Substituted aryloxymethyl bicyclicmethyl acetamide compounds

ABSTRACT

Compounds of the general formula (I): 
                         
pharmaceutical compositions comprising a compound of general formula (I); and methods of treating disease conditions caused by overactivation of the VR1 receptor by administering a compound of general formula (I) to a subject.

This application is a United States utility application, which claims the benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/686,352, filed May 31, 2005, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/783,664, filed Mar. 17, 2006.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to novel substituted aryloxy-N-bicyclomethyl acetamide compounds and to their use in therapy. These compounds are particularly useful as antagonists of the VR1 (Type I Vanilloid) receptor, and are thus useful for the treatment of pain, neuralgia, neuropathies, nerve injury, burns, migraine, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, neuritis, sciatica, pelvic hypersensitivity, bladder disease, inflammation, or the like in mammals, especially humans. The present invention also relates to a pharmaceutical composition comprising the above compounds.

BACKGROUND ART

The Vanilloid receptor 1 (VR1) is a ligand gated non-selective cation channel. It is believed to be a member of the transient receptor potential super family. VR1 is recognized as a polymodal nociceptor that integrates multiple pain stimuli, e.g., noxious heat, protons, and vanilloids (European Journal of Physiology 451:151-159, 2005). A major distribution of VR1 is in the sensory (Aδ- and C-) fibers, which are bipolar neurons having somata in sensory ganglia. The peripheral fibers of these neurons innervate the skin, the mucosal membranes, and almost all internal organs. It is also recognized that VR1 exists in bladder, kidney, brain, pancreas, and various kinds of organs. A body of studies using VR1 agonists, e.g., capsaicin or resiniferatoxin, have suggested that VR1 positive nerves are thought to participate in a variety of physiological responses, including nociception (Clinical Therapeutics. 13(3): 338-395, 1991, Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics 314:410-421, 2005, and Neuroscience Letter 388: 75-80, 2005). Based on both the tissue distribution and the roles of VR1, VR1 antagonists would have good therapeutic potential.

International Patent Publication Number WO2004108133 discloses a variety of benzoimidazolyl benzamide derivatives and benzoimidazolyl benzylamide derivatives as a modulator for vanilloid receptor.

It would be desirable if there were provided improved VR1 selective antagonist with enhanced binding activity with the VR1 receptor by systemic administration and with a good half-life. Other potential advantages include less toxicity, good absorption, good solubility, low protein binding affinity, less drug-drug interaction, a reduced inhibitory activity at HERG channel, reduced QT prolongation and good metabolic stability.

BRIEF DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

It has now been found that substituted aryloxy-N-bicyclomethyl acetamide compounds are potent VR1 antagonists with analgesic activity by systemic administration. The compounds of the present invention may show less toxicity, good absorption, good half-life, good solubility, low protein binding affinity, less drug-drug interaction, a reduced inhibitory activity at the HERG channel, reduced QT prolongation and good metabolic stability.

The present invention provides a compound of the following formula (I):

-   wherein A═B═D represents NR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, S—C(O)—NR⁹, NR⁹—C(O)—S,     NR⁹—C(O)—O, CR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, O—C(O)—NR⁹, NR¹⁰—C(O)—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—NR⁹—C(O),     C(O)—NR⁹—NR¹⁰, NR¹⁰—N═CR⁹, N═N—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—CR⁹═N, N═CR⁹—NR¹⁰,     NR¹⁰—N═N, N═N—NR¹⁰, S—CR⁹═N or N═CR⁹—S; -   X¹ represents CR¹ or N; -   X² and X³ each independently represents CR⁸ or N; -   R¹, R⁶, R⁸, R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently represents hydrogen,     halogen, hydroxy, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy,     halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkylthio, (C₁-C₆)alkylsulfinyl or     (C₁-C₆)alkylsulfonyl; -   R², R³, R⁴, and R⁵ each independently represents hydrogen,     (C₁-C₆)alkyl, halogen, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, or hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkyl; and -   R⁷ represents halogen, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH— or [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—;     or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, provided that: -   (i) when A=B=D represents NR¹⁰—N═N or N═N—NR¹⁰, then R² represents     (C₁-C₆)alkyl, halogen, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl or hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkyl; or -   (ii) when A=B=D represents NR¹⁰—N═N or N═N—NR¹⁰, and R² represents     (C₁-C₆)alkyl, then R⁷ represents halogen, (C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH— or [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—.

Another embodiment of the present invention is a compound of the formula (I-a):

-   X¹ represents CH, CR¹ or N; X² represents CH, CR⁶ or N; X³     represents CH, CR⁸ or N; R¹, R⁶, R⁸, R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently     represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, hydroxy, (C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkylthio,     (C₁-C₆)alkylsulfinyl, (C₁-C₆)alkylsulfonyl, [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH—,     [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—, H₂N—(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkyl-NH—(C₁-C₆)alkoxy,     [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, H₂N—(C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkyl-NH—(C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl, or     [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N(C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl; R², R³, R⁴, and R⁵ each     independently represents a hydrogen atom, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, a halogen     atom, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, or hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkyl; and R⁷ represents a     halogen atom, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy,     hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl,     (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH—, or     [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

As used herein, the term “halogen” means fluoro, chloro, bromo or iodo, preferably fluoro or chloro.

As used herein, the terms “(C₁-C₆)alkyl”, “(C₁-C₄)alkyl” and “(C₁-C₃)alkyl” mean straight or branched chain saturated radicals having the required number of carbon atoms, including, but not limited to methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, iso-propyl, n-butyl, iso-butyl, secondary-butyl, tert-butyl and 2-methylbutyl groups. Preferred groups are methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, tert-butyl and 2-methylbutyl groups.

As used herein, the term “(C₁-C₆)alkoxy” means (C₁-C₆)alkyl-O— wherein (C₁-C₆)alkyl radical is as defined above, including, but not limited to methoxy, ethoxy, n-propoxy, iso-propoxy, n-butoxy, iso-butoxy, sec-butoxy and tert-butoxy. Preferred groups are methoxy, ethoxy, n-propoxy, n-butoxy and tert-butoxy.

As used herein, the term “hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkyl” means (C₁-C₆)alkyl radical as defined above which is substituted by at least one hydroxy group including, but not limited to, hydroxymethyl, hydroxyethyl, hydroxy n-propyl, hydroxy iso-propyl (e.g. 2-hydroxy-1,1-dimethylethyl), hydroxy n-butyl, hydroxy iso-butyl, hydroxy secondary-butyl and hydroxy tert-butyl. Preferred groups are hydroxymethyl, hydroxyethyl, hydroxy n-propyl, hydroxy iso-propyl (e.g. 2-hydroxy-1,1-dimethylethyl) and hydroxy n-butyl.

As used herein, the term “(C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl” means (C₁-C₆)alkyl radical as defined above which is substituted by (C₁-C₆)alkoxy group as defined above.

As used herein, the term “(C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy” means (C₁-C₆)alkoxy radical as defined above which is substituted by (C₁-C₆)alkoxy as defined above. Preferred groups are methoxy methoxy, methoxy ethoxy or ethoxy ethoxy groups.

As used herein the term “halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl” and “halo(C₁-C₄)alkyl” mean (C₁-C₆)alkyl or (C₁-C₃)alkyl radical which is substituted by one or more halogen atoms as defined above including, but not limited to, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, 2-fluoroethyl, 2,2-difluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoro-1,1-dimethylethyl, 2,2,2-trichloroethyl, 3-fluoropropyl, 4-fluorobutyl, chloromethyl, trichloromethyl, iodomethyl, bromomethyl and 4,4,4-trifluoro-3-methylbutyl groups. Preferred groups are fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, 2-fluoroethyl, 2,2-difluoroethyl, 2,2,2-trifluoroethyl and 2,2,2-trifluoro-1,1-dimethylethyl groups.

As used herein, the terms “(C₁-C₆)alkylthio” means (C₁-C₆)alkyl-S— wherein (C₁-C₆)alkyl radical is as defined above, including, but not limited to methylthio, ethylthio, propylthio and butylthio. Preferred groups are methylthio and methylthio groups.

As used herein, the terms “(C₁-C₆)alkylsulfinyl” means (C₁-C₆)alkyl-SO— wherein (C₁-C₆)alkyl radical is as defined above, including, but not limited to methylsulfinyl, ethylsulfinyl, propylsulfinyl and butylsulfinyl. Preferred groups are methylsulfinyl and methylsulfinyl groups.

As used herein, the terms “(C₁-C₆)alkylsulfonyl” means (C₁-C₆)alkyl-SO₂— wherein (C₁-C₆)alkyl radical is as defined above, including, but not limited to methylsulfonyl, ethylsulfonyl, propylsulfonyl and butylsulfonyl. Preferred groups are methylsulfonyl and methylsulfonyl groups.

As used herein, the term “[(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH—” means alkyl-NH— wherein alkyl is defined above, including, but not limited to methylamino, ethylamino, n-propylamino, iso-propylamino, n-butylamino, iso-butylamino, secondary-butylamino, tert-butylamino. Preferred alkylamino groups are methylamino, ethylamino, n-propylamino, and n-butylamino.

As used herein, the term “[(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—” means dialkyl-N— wherein alkyl is defined above, including, but not limited to dimethylamino, diethylamino, methylethylamino, di n-propylamino, methyl n-propylamino, ethyl n-propylamino diiso-propylamino, di n-butylamino, methyl n-butylamino di iso-butylamino, di secondary-butylamino, di tert-butylamino. Preferred dialkylamino groups are dimethylamino, diethylamino, di n-propylamino, di n-butylamino.

Preferably A═B═D is NR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, NR⁹—C(O)—O, CR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, O—C(O)—NR⁹, NR¹⁰—C(O)—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—N═CR⁹, N═N—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—CR⁹═N, N═CR⁹—NR¹⁰, NR¹⁰—N═N, N═N—NR¹⁰, S—CR⁹═N or N═CR⁹—S; more preferably NR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, NR⁹—C(O)—O, NR¹⁰—C(O)—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—N═CR⁹, NR¹⁰—CR⁹═N, NR¹⁰—N═N, N═N—NR¹⁰, S—CR⁹═N or N═CR⁹—S.

Preferably X¹ represents CR¹.

Preferably X² and X³ each independently represents CR⁸.

Preferably R¹ represents hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably hydrogen.

Preferably R² represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably hydrogen or (C₁-C₃)alkyl; most preferably hydrogen, methyl or ethyl.

Preferably R³, R⁴ and R⁵ each independently represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably hydrogen or (C₁-C₃)alkyl; most preferably hydrogen.

Preferably R⁶ represents hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably hydrogen or halogen; most preferably hydrogen, fluoro or chloro.

Preferably R⁷ represents (C₁-C₆)alkyl or halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably (C₁-C₄)alkyl or halo(C₁-C₄)alkyl; most preferably tert-butyl or 2,2,2-trifluoro-1,1-dimethylethyl

Preferably R⁸ is hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably R⁸ is hydrogen or halogen; most preferably R⁸ is hydrogen or fluoro.

Preferably R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; more preferably hydrogen or (C₁-C₃)alkyl; most preferably hydrogen or methyl.

Preferably, when one of R⁹ and R¹⁰ represents methyl, R⁶ and R⁸ represent hydrogen and hydrogen, fluoro and fluoro, hydrogen and chloro or chloro and hydrogen.

Preferred compounds of the invention include those in which each variable in formula (I) is selected from the preferred groups for each variable.

Specific preferred compounds of the invention are those listed in the Examples section below and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts and solvates thereof.

The compounds of formula (I), being VR1 antagonists, are potentially useful in the treatment of a range of disorders, particularly the treatment of acute cerebral ischemia, pain, chronic pain, acute pain, nociceptive pain, neuropathic pain, inflammatory pain, post herpetic neuralgia, neuropathies, neuralgia, diabetic neuropathy, HIV-related neuropathy, nerve injury, rheumatoid arthritic pain, osteoarthritic pain, burns, back pain, visceral pain, cancer pain, dental pain, headache, migraine, carpal tunnel syndrome, fibromyalgia, neuritis, sciatica, pelvic hypersensitivity, pelvic pain, menstrual pain, bladder disease, such as incontinence, micturition disorder, renal colic and cystitis, inflammation, such as burns, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, neurodegenerative disease, such as stroke, post stroke pain and multiple sclerosis, pulmonary disease, such as asthma, cough, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and broncho constriction, gastrointestinal disorders, such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), dysphagia, ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), colitis and Crohn's disease, ischemia, such as cerebrovascular ischemia, emesis, such as cancer chemotherapy-induced emesis, and obesity, or the like in mammals, especially humans. The treatment of pain, particularly neuropathic pain, is a preferred use.

Physiological pain is an important protective mechanism designed to warn of danger from potentially injurious stimuli from the external environment. The system operates through a specific set of primary sensory neurones and is activated by noxious stimuli via peripheral transducing mechanisms (see Millan, 1999, Prog. Neurobiol., 57, 1-164 for a review). These sensory fibres are known as nociceptors and are characteristically small diameter axons with slow conduction velocities. Nociceptors encode the intensity, duration and quality of noxious stimulus and by virtue of their topographically organised projection to the spinal cord, the location of the stimulus. The nociceptors are found on nociceptive nerve fibres of which there are two main types, A-delta fibres (myelinated) and C fibres (non-myelinated). The activity generated by nociceptor input is transferred, after complex processing in the dorsal horn, either directly, or via brain stem relay nuclei, to the ventrobasal thalamus and then on to the cortex, where the sensation of pain is generated.

Pain may generally be classified as acute or chronic. Acute pain begins suddenly and is short-lived (usually twelve weeks or less). It is usually associated with a specific cause such as a specific injury and is often sharp and severe. It is the kind of pain that can occur after specific injuries resulting from surgery, dental work, a strain or a sprain. Acute pain does not generally result in any persistent psychological response. In contrast, chronic pain is long-term pain, typically persisting for more than three months and leading to significant psychological and emotional problems. Common examples of chronic pain are neuropathic pain (e.g. painful diabetic neuropathy, postherpetic neuralgia), carpal tunnel syndrome, back pain, headache, cancer pain, arthritic pain and chronic post-surgical pain.

When a substantial injury occurs to body tissue, via disease or trauma, the characteristics of nociceptor activation are altered and there is sensitisation in the periphery, locally around the injury and centrally where the nociceptors terminate. These effects lead to a heightened sensation of pain. In acute pain these mechanisms can be useful, in promoting protective behaviours which may better enable repair processes to take place. The normal expectation would be that sensitivity returns to normal once the injury has healed. However, in many chronic pain states, the hypersensitivity far outlasts the healing process and is often due to nervous system injury. This injury often leads to abnormalities in sensory nerve fibres associated with maladaptation and aberrant activity (Woolf & Salter, 2000, Science, 288, 1765-1768).

Clinical pain is present when discomfort and abnormal sensitivity feature among the patient's symptoms. Patients tend to be quite heterogeneous and may present with various pain symptoms. Such symptoms include: 1) spontaneous pain which may be dull, burning, or stabbing; 2) exaggerated pain responses to noxious stimuli (hyperalgesia); and 3) pain produced by normally innocuous stimuli (allodynia—Meyer et al., 1994, Textbook of Pain, 13-44). Although patients suffering from various forms of acute and chronic pain may have similar symptoms, the underlying mechanisms may be different and may, therefore, require different treatment strategies. Pain can also therefore be divided into a number of different subtypes according to differing pathophysiology, including nociceptive, inflammatory and neuropathic pain.

Nociceptive pain is induced by tissue injury or by intense stimuli with the potential to cause injury. Pain afferents are activated by transduction of stimuli by nociceptors at the site of injury and activate neurons in the spinal cord at the level of their termination. This is then relayed up the spinal tracts to the brain where pain is perceived (Meyer et al., 1994, Textbook of Pain, 13-44). The activation of nociceptors activates two types of afferent nerve fibres. Myelinated A-delta fibres transmit rapidly and are responsible for sharp and stabbing pain sensations, whilst unmyelinated C fibres transmit at a slower rate and convey a dull or aching pain. Moderate to severe acute nociceptive pain is a prominent feature of pain from central nervous system trauma, strains/sprains, burns, myocardial infarction and acute pancreatitis, post-operative pain (pain following any type of surgical procedure), posttraumatic pain, renal colic, cancer pain and back pain. Cancer pain may be chronic pain such as tumour related pain (e.g. bone pain, headache, facial pain or visceral pain) or pain associated with cancer therapy (e.g. postchemotherapy syndrome, chronic postsurgical pain syndrome or post radiation syndrome). Cancer pain may also occur in response to chemotherapy, immunotherapy, hormonal therapy or radiotherapy. Back pain may be due to herniated or ruptured intervertabral discs or abnormalities of the lumber facet joints, sacroiliac joints, paraspinal muscles or the posterior longitudinal ligament. Back pain may resolve naturally but in some patients, where it lasts over 12 weeks, it becomes a chronic condition which can be particularly debilitating.

Neuropathic pain is currently defined as pain initiated or caused by a primary lesion or dysfunction in the nervous system. Nerve damage can be caused by trauma and disease and thus the term ‘neuropathic pain’ encompasses many disorders with diverse aetiologies. These include, but are not limited to, peripheral neuropathy, diabetic neuropathy, post herpetic neuralgia, trigeminal neuralgia, back pain, cancer neuropathy, HIV neuropathy, phantom limb pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, central post-stroke pain and pain associated with chronic alcoholism, hypothyroidism, uremia, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and vitamin deficiency. Neuropathic pain is pathological as it has no protective role. It is often present well after the original cause has dissipated, commonly lasting for years, significantly decreasing a patient's quality of life (Woolf and Mannion, 1999, Lancet, 353, 1959-1964). The symptoms of neuropathic pain are difficult to treat, as they are often heterogeneous even between patients with the same disease (Woolf & Decosterd, 1999, Pain Supp., 6, S141-S147; Woolf and Mannion, 1999, Lancet, 353, 1959-1964). They include spontaneous pain, which can be continuous, and paroxysmal or abnormal evoked pain, such as hyperalgesia (increased sensitivity to a noxious stimulus) and allodynia (sensitivity to a normally innocuous stimulus).

The inflammatory process is a complex series of biochemical and cellular events, activated in response to tissue injury or the presence of foreign substances, which results in swelling and pain (Levine and Taiwo, 1994, Textbook of Pain, 45-56). Arthritic pain is the most common inflammatory pain. Rheumatoid disease is one of the commonest chronic inflammatory conditions in developed countries and rheumatoid arthritis is a common cause of disability. The exact aetiology of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown, but current hypotheses suggest that both genetic and microbiological factors may be important (Grennan & Jayson, 1994, Textbook of Pain, 397-407). It has been estimated that almost 16 million Americans have symptomatic osteoarthritis (OA) or degenerative joint disease, most of whom are over 60 years of age, and this is expected to increase to 40 million as the age of the population increases, making this a public health problem of enormous magnitude (Houge & Mersfelder, 2002, Ann Pharmacother., 36, 679-686; McCarthy et al., 1994, Textbook of Pain, 387-395). Most patients with osteoarthritis seek medical attention because of the associated pain. Arthritis has a significant impact on psychosocial and physical function and is known to be the leading cause of disability in later life. Ankylosing spondylitis is also a rheumatic disease that causes arthritis of the spine and sacroiliac joints. It varies from intermittent episodes of back pain that occur throughout life to a severe chronic disease that attacks the spine, peripheral joints and other body organs.

Another type of inflammatory pain is visceral pain which includes pain associated with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Visceral pain is pain associated with the viscera, which encompass the organs of the abdominal cavity. These organs include the sex organs, spleen and part of the digestive system. Pain associated with the viscera can be divided into digestive visceral pain and non-digestive visceral pain. Commonly encountered gastrointestinal (GI) disorders that cause pain includes functional bowel disorder (FBD) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). These GI disorders include a wide range of disease states that are currently only moderately controlled, including, in respect of FBD, gastro-esophageal reflux, dyspepsia, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and functional abdominal pain syndrome (FAPS), and, in respect of IBD, Crohn's disease, ileitis and ulcerative colitis, all of which regularly produce visceral pain. Other types of visceral pain include the pain associated with dysmenorrhea, cystitis and pancreatitis and pelvic pain.

It should be noted that some types of pain have multiple aetiologies and thus can be classified in more than one area, e.g. back pain and cancer pain have both nociceptive and neuropathic components.

Other types of pain include:

-   -   pain resulting from musculo-skeletal disorders, including         myalgia, fibromyalgia, spondylitis, sero-negative         (non-rheumatoid) arthropathies, non-articular rheumatism,         dystrophinopathy, glycogenolysis, polymyositis and pyomyositis;     -   heart and vascular pain, including pain caused by angina,         myocardical infarction, mitral stenosis, pericarditis, Raynaud's         phenomenon, scleredoma and skeletal muscle ischemia;     -   head pain, such as migraine (including migraine with aura and         migraine without aura), cluster headache, tension-type headache         mixed headache and headache associated with vascular disorders;         and     -   orofacial pain, including dental pain, otic pain, burning mouth         syndrome and temporomandibular myofascial pain.

The present invention provides a pharmaceutical composition including a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. The composition is preferably useful for the treatment of the disease conditions defined above.

The present invention further provides a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, for use as a medicament.

Further, the present invention provides a method for the treatment of the disease conditions defined above in a mammal, preferably a human, which includes administering to said mammal a therapeutically effective amount of a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof.

Yet further, the present invention provides the use of a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, in the manufacture of a medicament for the treatment of the disease conditions defined above.

Yet further, the present invention provides a combination of a compound of the formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, and another pharmacologically active agent.

In this specification, especially in “General Synthesis” and “Examples”, the following abbreviations can be used:

-   BEP 2-bromo-1-ethylpyridinium tetrafluoroborate -   BOP benzotriazol-1-yloxy-tris(dimethylamino)phosphonium     hexafluorophosphate -   CDI 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride -   DCC dicyclohexylcarbodiimide -   DCM dichloromethane -   DME 1,2-dimethoxyethane, dimethoxyethane -   DMF N,N-dimethylformamide -   DMSO dimethyl sulfoxide -   EDC 1-ethyl-3-(3′-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide hydrogen chloride -   EtOAc ethyl acetate -   EtOH ethanol -   HOBt 1-hydroxybenzotriazole -   MeOH methanol -   NMP N-methyl-2-pyrroliidone -   THF tetrahydrofuran -   TFA trifluoroacetic acid     General Synthesis

The compounds of the present invention may be prepared by a variety of processes well known for the preparation of compounds of this type, for example as shown in the following reaction Schemes.

All starting materials in the following general syntheses may be commercially available or obtained by conventional methods known to those skilled in the art.

This illustrates the preparation of compounds of formula (I).

Step 1A: In this Step, amide compounds of formula (I) can be prepared by the coupling reaction of an amine compound of formula (II) with the acid compound of formula (III) in the presence or absence of a coupling reagent in an inert solvent. Suitable coupling reagents are those typically used in peptide synthesis including, for example, diimides (e.g., DCC, EDC, 2-ethoxy-N-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline, BEP, CDI, BOP, diethyl azodicarboxylate-triphenylphosphine, diethylcyanophosphate, diethylphosphorylazide, 2-chloro-1-methylpyridinium iodide, N,N′-carbonyldiimidazole, benzotriazole-1-yl diethyl phosphate, ethyl chloroformate or isobutyl chloroformate. The reaction can be carried out in the presence of a base such as HOBt, N,N-diisopropylethylamine, N-methylmorpholine or triethylamine. The amide compound of formula (I) can be formed via an acylhalide, which can be obtained by the reaction with halogenating agents such as oxalylchloride, phosphorus oxychloride or thionyl chloride. The reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of a solvent. There is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed, provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or on the reagents involved and that it can dissolve the reagents, at least to some extent. Examples of suitable solvents include: acetone; nitromethane; DMF; NMP; sulfolane; DMSO; 2-butanone; acetonitrile; halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, dichloroethane or chloroform; and ethers such as THF or 1,4-dioxane. The reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures, and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention. The preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent, and the starting material or reagent used. However, in general, we find it convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from −20° C. to 100° C., more preferably from about 0° C. to 60° C. The time required for the reaction can also vary widely, depending on many factors, notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the reagents and solvent employed. However, provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above, a period of 5 minutes to 1 week, more preferably 30 minutes to 24 hours, will usually suffice.

Y represents acid counter ions such as Cl—, F—, Br—, I—, trifluoromethane sulfonate, methane sulfonate or oxalate. When A═B═D is NH—C(O)—NH, and R² and R³ are H, the compound of formula (II) may be prepared from a compound of formula (IV). This illustrates preparation of compounds of formula (II).

Step 2A: In this Step, a diamine compound of formula (V) may be prepared by reduction of the compound of formula (IV) with a reducing agent in an inert solvent, e.g. MeOH, EtOH, EtOAc or THF; or mixtures thereof. The reduction may be carried out under known hydrogenation conditions in the presence of a metal catalyst, e.g. nickel catalysts such as Raney nickel, palladium catalysts such as Pd—C, platinum catalysts such as PtO₂, or ruthenium catalysts such as RuCl₂ (Ph₃P)₃, under hydrogen atmosphere or in the presence of hydrogen sources such as hydrazine or formic acid. If desired, the reaction is carried out under acidic conditions, e.g. in the presence of hydrochloric acid or acetic acid or ammonium chloride. The reduction may also be carried out in the presence of a suitable reducing agent, e.g. LiAlH₄, LiBH₄, Fe, Sn or Zn, in an inert solvent or mixed solvent, e.g. MeOH, EtOH, diglyme, benzene, toluene, xylene, o-dichlorobenzene, DCM, dichloroethane, THF, 1,4-dioxane, or mixtures thereof; or without solvent. If desired, when the reducing reagent is Fe, Sn or Zn, the reaction is carried out under acidic conditions in the presence of water.

Step 2B: In this Step, a compound of formula (VI) can be prepared by cyclization of the compound of formula (V) in a solvent. The cyclization can be carried out by conventional procedures. In a typical procedure, the cyclization is carried out under an excess amount of CDI in a solvent. Suitable solvents include, for example, alcohols such as MeOH, EtOH, propanol, butanol, 2-methoxyethanol or ethylene gylcol; ethers such as THF, DME or 1,4-dioxane; amides such as DMF or hexamethylphosphorictriamide; or sulfoxides such as DMSO. Preferable solvents include MeOH, EtOH, propanol, THF, DME 1,4-dioxane, DMF or DMSO. This reaction can be carried out at a temperature in the range from −20 to 100° C., usually from 20° C. to 65° C. for 30 minutes to 24 hours, usually 60 minutes to 10 hours.

Step 2C: In this Step, a compound of formula (VII) can be prepared by reduction of the compound of formula (VI) with a reducing agent. This reaction may be carried out in the presence of a suitable reducing agent such as diboran, boran-methyl sulfide complex, or lithium aluminum hydride in an inert solvent selected from THF and diethyl ether. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 250° C., preferably in the range of 0° C. to the reflux temperature, but if necessary, lower or higher temperature can be employed. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 20 minutes to 5 hours, however shorter or longer reaction times, if necessary, can be employed. The reduction may also be carried out under known hydrogenation conditions such as in the presence of a metal catalyst such as Raney nickel catalysts in the presence or absence of hydrazine, palladium catalysts or platinum catalysts under hydrogen atmosphere. This reaction may be carried out in an inert solvent such as MeOH, EtOH, and THF in the presence or absence of hydrogen chloride. If necessary, this reduction may be carried out under the adequate pressure in the range from about 0.5 to 10 kg/cm², preferably in the range from 1 to 6 kg/cm². The reduction may also be carried out in the presence of a suitable reducing agent, e.g. LiAlH₄, LiBH₄, NaBH₄, NaBH₃CN in an inert solvent or mixed solvent, e.g. diglyme, benzene, toluene, xylene, o-dichlorobenzene, DCM, dichloroethane, THF, 1,4-dioxane, or mixtures thereof; or without solvent. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100° C. to 250° C., preferably in the range of 0° C. to the reflux temperature, but if necessary, lower or higher temperature can be employed. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to 2 days, preferably from 20 minutes to 24 hours.

-   CN or CH₂NH₂ attaches to position*. -   R: R¹⁰ -   Y represents acid counter ions such as Cl—, F—, Br—, I,     trifluoromethane sulfonate, methane sulfonate or oxalate.     When A═B═D is NR¹⁰—C(O)—NH, and R² and R³ are H, the compound of     formula (II) may be prepared from a compound of formula (VII). This     illustrates preparation of compounds of formula (II).

Step 3A: in this Step, a compound of formula (VIII) may be prepared by coupling reaction of the compound of formula (VII) with an amine in an inert solvent. The coupling reaction may be carried out in the absence or presence of a base in an inert solvent or without solvent. A preferred base includes, for example, an alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxide such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide; an alkoxide such as sodium methoxide or sodium ethoxide; a carbonate such as sodium carbonate, cesium carbonate or potassium carbonate; a hydride such as sodium hydride or potassium hydride; an amine such as triethylamine, tributylamine, diisopropylethylamine, 2,6-lutidine, pyridine or dimethylaminopyridine; potassium phosphate, potassium tert-butoxide, 2-tert-butylimino-2-diethylamino-1,3-dimethyl-perhydro-1,3,2-diazaphosphorine (BEMP), tert-butylimino-tri(pyrrolidino)phosphorane (BTPP), CsF or potassium fluoride. Preferred inert solvents include, for example, acetone, benzene, toluene, xylene, odichlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, nitromethane, pyridine, DCM, dichloroethane, DMF, dimethylacetamide (DMA), 1,4-dioxane, DMSO, acetonitrile, sulfolane, NMP, methyl ethyl ketone (2-butanone), THF or DME; or mixtures thereof. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of 0 to 200° C., preferably in the range of room temperature to 150° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to 48 hours, preferably from 1 hour to 24 hours. If desired, the reaction may be conducted in the presence of catalyst such as copper (e.g. copper bronze or cuprous iodide), nickel and tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0)-chloroform adduct with 2-(dicyclohexylphosphino)biphenyl.

Step 3B: In this Step, a diamine compound of formula (IX) can be prepared from the compound of formula (VIII) by the same procedure as Step 2A.

Step 3C: In this Step, a compound of formula (X) can be prepared from the compound of formula (IX) by the same procedure as Step 2B.

Step 3D: In this Step, a compound of formula (II) can be prepared from the compound of formula (X) by the same procedure as Step 2C.

When R² is methyl, the compound of formula (II) may be prepared from a compound of formula (X). This illustrates preparation of compounds of formula (II).

Step 4A: In the above formula, a compound formula (XI) can be prepared by coupling reaction of the compound of formula (X) under a basic condition with a transition metal catalysts and additives in a solvent. Examples of suitable solvents include: protic solvents such as water, alcohols such as MeOH or EtOH and co-solvents of water or alcohols as protic solvents mixed with THF, 1,4-dioxane, DMF or acetonitrile. This reaction can be carried out in the presence of a suitable catalyst. There is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the catalysts used, and any catalysts commonly used in reactions of this type can equally be used here. Examples of such catalysts include: tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)-palladium, bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride, copper(0), copper(I) acetate, copper(I) bromide, copper(I) chloride, copper(I) iodide, copper(I) oxide, copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate, copper(II) acetate, copper(II) bromide, copper(II) chloride, copper(II) iodide, copper(II) oxide, copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate, palladium(I) acetate, palladium(II) chloride, bisacetonitriledichloropalladium(0), bis(dibenzylideneacetone)palladium(0), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) or [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]palladium(II) dichloride. Preferable catalysts are tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)-palladium, bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride, palladium(II) acetate, palladium(II) chloride, bisacetonitriledichloropalladium(0), bis(dibenzylideneacetone)palladium(0), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) or [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]palladium(II) dichloride. This reaction can be carried out in the presence of a suitable additive agent. Examples of such additive agents include: triphenylphosphine, tri-tert-butylphosphine, 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane, 1,3-bis(diphenylphosphino)propane, 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene, tri-2-furylphosphine, tri-o-tolylphosphine, 2-(dichlorohexylphosphino)biphenyl or triphenylarsine. This reaction can be carried out in the presence of bases such as potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate or cesium carbonate. The reaction can be carried out at a temperature of from 0° C. to 200° C., more preferably from 20° C. to 120° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 5 minutes to 48 hours, more preferably 30 minutes to 24 hours, will usually suffice.

Step 4B: In this step, the compound of formula (XIII) can be prepared by coupling reaction of the compound of formula (XI) with the amine of formula (XII) under dehydrate reagent and/or HCl-MeOH and/or Lewis Acid. A preferred dehydrate reagent includes sodium sulfate, magnesium sulfate, calcium sulfate or methylformate. A preferred Lewis Acid includes titanium(IV) tetramethoxide, titanium(IV) tetraisopropoxide, titanium(IV) tetra-tert-buthoxide, titanium(IV) tetraethoxide or titanium(IV) tetrachloride, in the presence or absence of base. A preferred base includes an alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxide, alkoxide, carbonate, halide or hydride, such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium methoxide, sodium ethoxide, potassium tert-butoxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, cesium carbonate, potassium fluoride, sodium hydride or potassium hydride; or an amine such as triethylamine, tributylamine, diisopropylethylamine, 2,6-lutidine, pyridine or dimethylaminopyridine. Examples of suitable solvents include: THF; 1,4-dioxane; DMF; acetonitrile; alcohols such as MeOH or EtOH; halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform or carbon tetrachloride; or acetic acid. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of 0 to 200° C., preferably in the range of from 100° C. to 140° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 5 minutes to 1 hour. If necessary, microwave condition is applied to the reaction.

Step 4C: In this Step, a compound of formula (XIV) can be prepared from the compound of formula (XIII) by the same procedure as Step 2C. Examples of suitable solvents are similar to those mentioned in Step 4B.

Step 4D: In this Step, the compound of the formula (II) can be prepared by deprotection and/or salt formation of the compound of formula (XIV) under acidic condition in an inert solvent using a method of Journal of American Chemical Society, 1999, 121, 268-269 by By D. Cogan et. al. An acid includes, for example, but not limited to hydrogen chloride, hydrogen bromide, trifluoromethane sulfonic acid, acetic acid or p-toluenesulfonic acid. The reaction may be also carried out in a similar to those mentioned in Step 2C. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of 0 to 200° C., preferably room temperature. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to 24 hours, preferably from 5 minutes to 1 hour. Examples of suitable solvents are similar to those mentioned in Step 4B or Step 2C.

When R² and R³ are not H, the compound of formula (II) may be prepared from a compound of formula (X).

Step 5A: In this Step, the compound of formula (XV) may be prepared by reaction of the compound of formula (X) with carbon monoxide and alcohol (e.g. MeOH or EtOH) in the presence of a catalyst and/or base in an inert solvent. Examples of suitable catalysts include: palladium reagents, such as palladium acetate or palladium dibenzylacetone. Examples of suitable bases include: N,N-diisopropylethylamine, N-methylmorpholine or triethylamine. If desired, this reaction may be carried out in the presence or absence of an additive such as 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene, triphenylphosphine or 1,3-bis-(diphenylphosphino)propane (DPPP). The reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of a solvent. There is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed, provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or on the reagents involved and that it can dissolve the reagents, at least to some extent. Examples of suitable solvents include: acetone; nitromethane; DMF; sulfolane; DMSO; NMP; 2-butanone; acetonitrile; halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, dichloroethane or chloroform; or ethers, such as THF or 1,4-dioxane. The reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures, and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention. The preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent, and the starting material or reagent used. However, in general, we find it convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from −20° C. to 150° C., more preferably from about 50° C. to 80° C. The time required for the reaction may also vary widely, depending on many factors, notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the reagents and solvent employed. However, provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above, a period of 30 minutes to 24 hours, more preferably 1 hour to 10 hours, will usually suffice.

Step 5B-1: In this Step, an acid compound may be prepared by hydrolysis of the compound of formula (XV) in a solvent. The hydrolysis may be carried out by conventional procedures. In a typical procedure, the hydrolysis carried out under the basic condition, e.g. in the presence of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide or lithium hydroxide. Suitable solvents include, for example, alcohols such as MeOH, EtOH, propanol, butanol, 2-methoxyethanol or ethylene gylcol; ethers such as THF, DME or 1,4-dioxane; amides such as DMF or hexamethylphosphorictriamide; or sulfoxides such as DMSO. This reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range from −20 to 100° C., usually from 20° C. to 65° C. for 30 minutes to 24 hours, usually 60 minutes to 10 hours. The hydrolysis may also be carried out under an acid condition, e.g. in the presence of hydrogen halides, such as hydrogen chloride and hydrogen bromide; sulfonic acids, such as p-toluenesulfonic acid and benzenesulfonic acid; pyridium p-toluenesulfonate; and carboxylic acid, such as acetic acid and trifluoroacetic acid. Suitable solvents include, for example, alcohols such as MeOH, EtOH, propanol, butanol, 2-methoxyethanol, and ethylene gylcol; ethers such as THF, DME and 1,4-dioxane; amides such as DMF and hexamethylphosphorictriamide; and sulfoxides such as DMSO. This reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range from −20 to 100° C., usually from 20° C. to 65° C. for 30 minutes to 24 hours, usually 60 minutes to 10 hours.

Step 5B-2: In this Step, a compound of formula (XVI) may be prepared by the coupling reaction of an amine with the acid compound obtained in Step 5B-1 in the presence or absence of a coupling reagent in an inert solvent. This reaction may be carried out through activated carboxylic derivatives. These derivatives may be isolated, if they are stable, or may be used directly as crude mixtures in the next step. If desired, this reaction may be carried out in the presence or absence of an additive such as DMAP, 1-hydoroxybenzotriazole or 1-hydroxyazabenzotriazole. The reaction is normally and preferably effected in the presence of a solvent. There is no particular restriction on the nature of the solvent to be employed, provided that it has no adverse effect on the reaction or on the reagents involved and that it can dissolve the reagents, at least to some extent. Examples of suitable solvents are similar to those described in Step 5A. The reaction can take place over a wide range of temperatures, and the precise reaction temperature is not critical to the invention. The preferred reaction temperature will depend upon such factors as the nature of the solvent, and the starting material or reagent used. However, in general, we find it convenient to carry out the reaction at a temperature of from −20° C. to 100° C., more preferably from about 0° C. to 60° C. The time required for the reaction may also vary widely, depending on many factors, notably the reaction temperature and the nature of the reagents and solvent employed. However, provided that the reaction is effected under the preferred conditions outlined above, a period of 5 minutes to 1 week, more preferably 30 minutes to 24 hours, will usually suffice. Suitable coupling reagents are those typically used in peptide synthesis including, for example, diimides (e.g., DCC, EDC), 2-ethoxy-N-ethoxycarbonyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline, BEP, 2-chloro-1,3-dimethylimidazolinium chloride, BOP, diethyl azodicarboxylate-triphenylphosphine, diethylcyanophosphate, diethylphosphorylazide, 2-chloro-1-methylpyridinium iodide, N,N′-carnbonyldiimidazole, benzotriazole-1-yl diethyl phosphate, ethyl chloroformate or isobutyl chloroformate. If desired, the reaction may be carried out in the presence of a base such as N,N-diisopropylethylamine, N-methylmorpholine or triethylamine. The amide compound of formula (XXV) may be formed via an acylhalide, which may be obtained by the reaction with halogenating agents such as oxalylchloride, phosphorus oxychloride or thionyl chloride. The resulting acylhalide may be converted to the corresponding amide compound by treating with the amine compound under the similar conditions as described in this Step.

Step 5C: In this Step, the compound of formula (VII) can be prepared by reaction of the compound of formula (XII) with an organometallic reagent R²M. R²M can be prepared by reaction of a halide compound of R². For example, R²M, in which M represents MgZ, can be generated with stirring Mg and R²Z, dibromoethane and 12 under warming condition from the range of between 30-80° C. This reaction may be carried out in the presence of an organometallic reagent or a metal. Examples of suitable organometallic reagents include alkyllithiums such as n-butyllithium, sec-butyllithium or tert-butyllithium; aryllithiums such as phenyllithium or lithium naphtilide. Examples of suitable metal include magnesium. Preferred inert solvents include, for example, hydrocarbons, such as hexane; ethers, such as diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, DME, THF or 1,4-dioxane; or mixtures thereof. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 50° C., preferably in the range of from −100° C. to room temperature. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 1 hour to 10 hours.

Step 5D: In this Step, a compound of formula (XVIII) can be prepared by reduction of the compound of formula (XVII). The reduction of the carbonyl group of compound (XVII) may be carried out by conventional procedures. In a typical procedure, the reduction is carried out by treatment with lithium aluminum hydride, lithium borohydride or boran in a suitable inert solvent. Suitable solvents include, for example, ethers such as THF, DME or 1,4-dioxane. This reaction may be carried out at a temperature in the range from −20 to 100° C., usually from 20° C. to 65° C. for 30 minutes to 24 hours, usually 60 minutes to 10 hours. An alternative reduction procedure may be carried out by treatment with a reduction agent such as BH₃Me₂S complex having (R)-3,3-diphenyl-1-methylpyrrolidino[1,2,C]-1,3,2-oxazaborole as a ligand. Suitable inert solvents include THF. The reaction may be carried out at a temperature of −10° C., for 30 minutes to 24 hours, usually 60 minutes to 10 hours.

Step 5E-1: In this Step, a compound of formula (XIX) may be converted to a compound with a leaving group under conditions known to those skilled in the art. For example, the hydroxy group of the compound of formula (XVIII) may be converted to the chloride using a chlorinating agent, e.g. thionyl chloride, oxalyl chloride in the presence or absence of an inert solvent, e.g. halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride or 1,2-dichloroethane; or ethers such as diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, THF or 1,4-dioxane; DMF or DMSO. For another example, the hydroxy group of the compound of formula (XVIII) may be converted to the sulfonate group using a sulfonating agent, e.g. para-toluenesulfonyl chloride, para-toluenesulfonic anhydride, methanesulfonyl chloride, methanesulfonic anhydride, trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride in the presence of, or absence of a base, e.g. an alkali or alkaline earth metal hydroxide, alkoxide, carbonate, halide or hydride, such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium methoxide, sodium ethoxide, potassium tert-butoxide, sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, potassium fluoride, sodium hydride or potassium hydride, or an amine such as triethylamine, tributylamine, diisopropylethylamine, pyridine or dimethylaminopyridine in the presence or absence of an inert solvent, e.g. aliphatic hydrocarbons, such as hexane, heptane or petroleum ether; aromatic hydrocarbons, such as benzene, toluene, o-dichlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, pyridine or xylene; halogenated hydrocarbons such as methylene chloride, chloroform, carbon tetrachloride or 1,2-dichloroethane; ethers such as diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, THF or 1,4-dioxane; DMF or DMSO.

Step 5E-2: A compound of formula (XIX) may be prepared by azido introduction. The compound obtained in the Step 5E-1 may be treated with diphenylphosphoryl azide (DPPA) or HN₃ in the presence of dialkyl azodicarboxylate such as diethyl azodicarboxylate (DEAD) and phosphine reagent such as triphenylphosphine. Preferably, this reaction may be carried out in an inert solvent. Preferred inert solvents include, but are not limited to, THF, diethyl ether, DMF, benzene, toluene, xylene, o-dichlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, DCM, 1,2-dichloroethane or DME; or mixtures thereof. The reduction may be carried out in the presence of a suitable reducing agent such as lithium aluminum hydride, sodium borohydride, triethyl phosphite, triphenylphosphine, zinc, dibutyl tinhydride or diboran in an inert solvent selected form, but not limited to, THF, diethyl ether, MeOH, and EtOH. If desired, the reaction may be carried out under acidic conditions in the presence of hydrochloric acid or acetic acid. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 250° C., preferably in the range of 0° C. to the reflux temperature, but if necessary, lower or higher temperature can be employed. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 20 minutes to 5 hours, however shorter or longer reaction times, if necessary, can be employed.

Step 5F: In this Step, a compound of formula (II) can be prepared by reduction of the azide compound of formula (XIX) with a reducing agent. This reaction may be carried out in the presence of a suitable reducing agent such as diboran, boran-methyl sulfide complex, or lithium aluminum hydride in an inert solvent such as THF or diethyl ether. The reaction may also be carried out in similar conditions to those described in Step 2C above. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 250° C., preferably in the range of 0° C. to the reflux temperature, but if necessary, lower or higher temperature can be employed. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 20 minutes to 5 hours, however shorter or longer reaction times, if necessary, can be employed. The reduction may also be carried out under known hydrogenation conditions such as in the presence of a metal catalyst such as Raney nickel catalysts in the presence or absence of hydrazine, palladium catalysts or platinum catalysts under hydrogen atmosphere. This reaction may be carried out in an inert solvent such as MeOH, EtOH, or THF, in the presence or absence of hydrogen chloride or those described in Step 2C. If necessary, this reduction may be carried out under the adequate pressure in the range from about 0.5 to 10 kg/cm², preferably in the range from 1 to 6 kg/cm². Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100° C. to 250° C., preferably in the range of 0° C. to the reflux temperature, but if necessary, lower or higher temperature can be employed. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to 2 days, preferably from 20 minutes to 24 hours.

Step 5G: In this step, the compound of formula (XX) can be prepared by coupling reaction of the compound of formula (XVII) with the amine of formula (XII) by the method described in Step 4B above.

Step 5H: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXI) can be prepared from the compound of formula (XX) by the method described in Step 4C above.

Step 5I: In this step, a compound of the formula (II) can be prepared from the compound of formula (XXI) by the method described in Step 4D above.

When R is not hydrogen and R³ is hydrogen, a compound of formula (XVII) can be prepared from a compound of formula (X). This illustrates alternative preparation of compounds of formula (XVII).

Step 6A: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXIV) can be prepared by cyanating the compound of formula (X) under a cyanating condition with a transition metal catalyst and metal cyanide reagent in an inert solvent. Examples of suitable solvents include: THF; 1,4-dioxane; DMF; acetonitrile; alcohols such as MeOH or EtOH; halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform or carbon tetrachloride; or DME. Suitable reagents include, for example, alkalimetal cyanide such as lithium cyanide, sodium cyanide, potassium cyanide, transition metal cyanide such as ferric(II) cyanide, cobalt(II) cyanide, copper(I) cyanide, copper(II) cyanide, zinc(II) cyanide or trimethylsilyl cyanide. This reaction can be carried out in the presence of a suitable catalyst. There is likewise no particular restriction on the nature of the catalysts used, and any catalysts commonly used in reactions of this type can equally be used here. Examples of such catalysts include: tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)-palladium, bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride, copper(0), copper(I) acetate, copper(I) bromide, copper(I) chloride, copper(I) iodide, copper(I) oxide, copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate, copper(II) acetate, copper(II) bromide, copper(II) chloride, copper(II) iodide, copper(II) oxide, copper(II) trifluoromethanesulfonate, palladium(II) acetate, palladium(II) chloride, bisacetonitriledichloropalladium(0), bis(dibenzylideneacetone)palladium(0), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) or [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]palladium(II) dichloride. Preferable catalysts are tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)-palladium, bis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(II) chloride, palladium(II) acetate, palladium(II) chloride, bisacetonitriledichloropalladium(0), bis(dibenzylideneacetone)palladium(0), tris(dibenzylideneacetone)dipalladium(0) or [1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene]palladium(II) dichloride The reaction can be carried out in the presence of a suitable additive agent. Examples of such additive agents include: triphenylphosphine, tri-tert-butylphosphine, 1,1′-bis(diphenylphosphino)ferrocene, tri-2-furylphosphine, tri-o-tolylphosphine, 2-(dichlorohexylphosphino)biphenyl or triphenylarsine. The reaction can be carried out at a temperature of from 0° C. to 200° C., more preferably from 20° C. to 120° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 5 minutes to 48 hours, more preferably 30 minutes to 24 hours, will usually suffice. If necessary, microwave is applied to the reaction.

Step 6B: In this Step, a compound of formula (XVII) can be prepared by reaction of the compound (XXIV) with Grignard reagents, followed hydrolysis with aqueous solution of sodium bicarbonate or ammonium chloride. Examples of suitable Grignard reagents include; for examples, but not limited to, alkyl magnesium bromide such as methyl magnesium bromide, ethylmagnesium, phenylmagnesium. Preferred inert solvents include, for example; ethers such as diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, DME, THF or 1,4-dioxane; or mixtures thereof. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 50° C., preferably in the range of from −100° C. to room temperature. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 1 hour to 10 hours.

This illustrates preparation of compounds of formula (III).

Step 7A: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXVII) can be prepared by a substitution reaction of the compound of formula (XXV), which is generally synthesized by the following literature, but not limited to, for examples, Chemistry & Industry (London, United Kingdom), 1985, 22, 762-763; Journal of Chemical Society, Perkin trans. 1, 2001, 17, 2035-2039; or Journal of Heterocycle Chemistry, 1989, 26, 45-48, with a compound of formula (XXVI) in the presence of a base in an inert solvent. Examples of suitable solvents include: THF, DMF, DMSO, diethylether, toluene, ethylene glycol dimethylether or 1,4-dioxane. Preferred solvents include THF, DMF, DMSO or 1,4-dioxane. Examples of suitable bases include: alkyl lithiums, such as n-butyllithium, sec-butyllithium or tert-butyllithium; aryllithiums, such as phenyllithium or lithium naphtilide; metalamide such as sodium amide or lithium diisopropylamide; or alkali metal such as potassium hydride or sodium hydride; alkali carbonate such as potassium carbonate or sodium carbonate. Preferred bases include n-butyllithium, tert-butyllithium, potassium hydride or potassium carbonate. This reaction can be carried out at a temperature in the range from −50° C. to 200° C., usually from 0° C. to 80° C. for 5 minutes to 72 hours, usually 30 minutes to 24 hours.

Step 7B: In this Step, an acid compound of formula (III) can be prepared from the ester compound of formula (XXVII) by the same procedure as Step 5B.

When A═B═D is NH—C(O)—NH, R² is methyl and R³ is H, the compound of formula (II) may be prepared from a compound of formula (XXVIII).

Step 8A: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXX) can be prepared by dehydration and reduction of the compound of formula (XXVIII) and sulfonamide of formula (XXIX) with catalyst and reduction agent in an inert solvent. The dehydration reaction is conducted in the presence of a catalyst. Examples of a suitable catalyst include: hydrogen halide such as hydrogen chloride and hydrogen bromide; sulfonic acids such as p-toluenesulfonic acid or benzenesulfonic acid; sulfonylchloride such as metansulfonylchloride or p-toluenesulfonylchloride; methoxycarbonylsulfamoyltriethylammonium hydroxide; p-toluenesulfonylisocyanate or titanium(IV) ethoxide. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of 0 to 200° C., preferably in the range of from 50° C. to 100° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to 48 hours, preferably from 12 hours to 24 hours. The reduction may be carried out in the presence of a suitable reducing agent in an inert solvent or without solvent. A preferred reducing agent is selected from, for example, but not limited to, NaBH₄, LiAlH₄, LiBH₄, Fe, Sn or Zn. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −78° C. to room temperature, preferably in the range of from −70° C. to 0° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 3 hours to 6 hours. Examples of suitable solvents are similar to those described in Step 4B.

Step 8B: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXXI) can be prepared by reduction of the compound of formula (XXX) in the presence of a suitable reducing agent in an inert solvent or without solvent. A preferred reducing agent is selected from, for example, but not limited to, NaBH₄, LiAlH₄, LiBH₄, Fe, Sn or Zn. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −78° C. to room temperature, preferably in the range of from −70° C. to 0° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 3 hours to 6 hours. Examples of suitable solvents are similar to those described in Step 4B. In this Step, a compound of formula (XXXI) can be also prepared by the reduction in the presence of a metal catalyst under hydrogen atmosphere in an inert solvent. A preferred metal catalyst is selected from, for example, nickel catalysts such as Raney nickel, Pd—C, palladiumhydroxide-carbon, platinumoxide, platinum-carbon, ruthenium-carbon, rhodium-aluminumoxide, tris[triphenyphosphine]rhodiumchlrodie. If necessary, ammonium chloride is added to the reaction mixture as additives. Example of suitable inert aqueous or non-aqueous organic solvents or mixed solvents include: alcohols such as MeOH or EtOH; ethers such as THF or 1,4-dioxane; acetone and water; dimethylformamide; halogenated hydrocarbons, such as DCM, dichloroethane or chloroform; or acetic acid; or mixtures thereof. The reaction can be carried out at a temperature in the range from of 20° C. to 100° C., preferably in the range of 20° C. to 60° C. Reaction time is, in general, from 10 minutes to 4 days, preferably 30 minutes to 24 hours. This reaction can be carried out under hydrogen atmosphere at a pressure ranging from 1 to 100 atoms, preferably from 1 to 10 atoms.

Step 8C: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXXII) can be prepared from the compound of formula (XXXI) by the same procedure as Step 3C.

Step 8D: In this Step, the compound of formula (II) can be prepared by deprotection and salt formation of the compound of formula (XXXII) under acidic conditions in an inert solvent, using the method of D. Cogan et. al., Journal of American Chemical Society, 1999, 121, 268-269. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of from 0 to 200° C., preferably room temperature. Reaction time is, in general, from 1 minute to 24 hours, preferably from 5 minutes to 1 hour. Examples of suitable solvents are similar to those described in Step 4B.

Step 9A: In this Step, an organometallic compound of formula (XXXIV) can be prepared by directive metalation reaction of formula (XXXIII) with alkyl lithium. This reaction may be carried out in the presence of an organometallic reagent or metal. Examples of suitable organometallic reagents, preferred reaction inert solvents, reaction temperature and reaction time are similar to those described in Step 5C.

Step 9B: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXXV) can be prepared by nucleophilic addition of the compound of formula (XXXIV) with ketone. Examples of suitable ketone reagents include; dialkylketone such as acetone or haloalkylketone such as 1,1,1-trifluoroacetone. Preferred reaction inert solvents, reaction temperature and reaction time are similar to those described in Step 9A.

Step 9C: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXXVI) can be prepared by halogenation of the compound of formula (XXXV) with a halogenating agent. The halogenation may be carried out in the presence of a suitable halogenating agent in an inert solvent or without solvent. Preferred reaction inert solvents include, for example, hydrocarbons such as benzene, toluene or xylene; halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform or carbon tetrachloride; or mixtures thereof. A preferred halogenating agent includes thionyl chloride, oxalyl chloride, phosphorus oxychloride, titanium chloride or phosphorus pentachloride, preferably the combonation of thionyl chloride and catalytic pyridine. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 200° C., preferably in the range of from −40° C. to 100° C. Reaction time is, in generally, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 1 hour to 10 hours.

Step 9D: In this Step, a compound of formula (XXXVII) can be prepared by substitution reaction of the compound of formula (XXXVI) with an alkylating agent in an inert solvent. A preferred alkylating agent includes trialkylmetal such as trimethylaluminum or triethylaluminum; alkylmagnesium halide such as methylmagnesium bromide, in the presence of an additive compound such as lithium bromide; dialkylzinc halide such as dimethylzinc dichloride prepared by dimethylzinc; or titanium chloride. More preferred alkylating agent is trimethylaluminum. Preferred reaction inert solvents include, for example, halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform or carbon tetrachloride; ethers such as diethyl ether, diisopropyl ether, DME, THF or 1,4-dioxane; hydrocarbons such as n-hexane, cyclohexane, benzene or toluene; or mixtures thereof. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 200° C., preferably in the range of from −40° C. to 100° C. Reaction time is, in generally, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 1 hour to 10 hours.

Step 9E: In this Step, the compound of formula (XXV) can be prepared by dealkylation reaction of the compound of formula (XXXVII) with a dealkylating agent in an inert solvent. Examples of suitable dealkylating agents include: boron halide such as boron tribromide or boron trichloride; hydrogen halide, such as hydrogen bromide. Preferred reaction inert solvents include, for example, halogenated hydrocarbons such as DCM, 1,2-dichloroethane, chloroform or carbon tetrachloride; or acetic acid. Reaction temperature is generally in the range of −100 to 200° C., preferably in the range of from −80° C. to 80° C. Reaction time is, in generally, from 1 minute to a day, preferably from 1 hour to 10 hours.

The various general methods described above may be useful for the introduction of the desired groups at any stage in the stepwise formation of the required compound, and it will be appreciated that these general methods can be combined in different ways in such multi-stage processes. The sequence of the reactions in multi-stage processes should of course be chosen so that the reaction conditions used do not affect groups in the molecule which are desired in the final product.

Method for Assessing Biological Activities

Human VR1 Antagonist Assay

VR1 antagonistic activity can be determined by the Ca²⁺ imaging assay using human VR1 highly expressing cells. The cells that highly express human VR1 receptors are obtainable from several different conventional methods. The one standard method is cloning from human Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG) or kidney according to the methods such as described in the journal article; Nature, 389, pp816-824, 1997. Alternatively VR1 receptors highly expressing human keratinocytes are also known and published in the journal article (Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, 291, pp124-129, 2002). In this article, human keratinocytes demonstrated VR1 mediated intracellular Ca²⁺ increase by addition of capsaicin. Furthermore, the method to up regulate human VR1 gene, which is usually a silent gene or don't produce detectable level of VR1 receptors, is also available to obtain propriety cells. Such genetic modification method was described in detail; Nat. Biotechnol., 19, pp440-445, 2001.

The cells that express human VR1 receptors were maintained in culture flask at 37° C. in an environment containing 5% CO₂ until use in the assay. The intracellular Ca²⁺ imaging assay to determine VR1 antagonistic activities were done by following procedures.

The culture medium was removed from the flask and fura-2/AM fluorescent calcium indicator was added to the flask at a concentration of 5 μM in the medium. The flask was placed in CO₂ incubator and incubated for 1 hour. Then the cells expressing the human VR1 receptors were detached from the flask follow by washing with phosphate buffer saline, PBS(−) and re-suspended in assay buffer. The 80 μl of aliquot of cell suspension (3.75×10⁵ cells/ml) was added to the assay plate and the cells were spun down by centrifuge (950 rpm, 20° C., 3 minutes).

Capsaicin Stimulation Assay

The capsaicin-induced changes in the intracellular calcium concentration were monitored using FDSS 6000 (Hamamatsu Photonics, Japan), a fluorometric imaging system. The cell suspension in Krebs-Ringer HEPES (KRH) buffer (115 mM NaCl, 5.4 mM KCl, 1 mM MgSO₄, 1.8 mM CaCl₂, 11 mM D-Glucose, 25 mM HEPES, 0.96 mM Na₂HPO₄, pH 7.3) were pre-incubated with varying concentrations of the test compounds or KRH buffer (buffer control) for 15 minutes at room temperature under the dark condition. Then capsaicin solution, which gives 300 nM in assay mixture, was automatically added to the assay plate by the FDSS 6000.

Acid Stimulation Assay

The Acid-induced changes in the intracellular calcium concentration were monitored using FDSS 6000 (Hamamatsu Photonics, Japan), a fluorometric imaging system. The cell suspension in resting buffer (HBSS supplemented with 10 mM HEPES, pH 7.4) were pre-incubated with varying concentrations of the test compounds or resting buffer (buffer control) for 15 minutes at room temperature under the dark condition. The cells were automatically added the stimulating solution (HBSS supplemented with MES, final assay buffer pH5.8) by the FDSS 6000. The IC₅₀ values of VR1 antagonists were determined from the half of the increase demonstrated by buffer control samples after acidic stimulation.

Determination of Antagonist Activity

The monitoring of the changes in the fluorescence signals (λex=340 nm/380 nm, λem=510-520 nm) was initiated at 1 minute prior to the addition of capsaicin solution or acidic buffer and continued for 5 minute. The IC₅₀ values of VR1 antagonists were determined from the half of the increase demonstrated by buffer control samples after agonist stimulation.

Chronic Constriction Injury Model (CCI Model)

Male Sprague-Dawley rats (270-300 g; B. W., Charles River, Tsukuba, Japan) were used. The chronic constriction injury (CCI) operation was performed according to the method described by Bennett and Xie (Bennett, G. J. and Xie, Y. K. Pain, 33:87-107, 1988). Briefly, animals were anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital (64.8 mg/kg, i.p.) and the left common sciatic nerve was exposed at the level of the middle of the thigh by blunt dissection through biceps femoris. Proximal to the sciatic's trifurcation was freed of adhering tissue and 4 ligatures (4-0 silk) were tided loosely around it with about 1 mm space. Sham operation was performed as same as CCI surgery except for sciatic nerve ligation. Two weeks after surgery, mechanical allodynia was evaluated by application of von Frey hairs (VFHs) to the plantar surface of the hind paw. The lowest amount of force of VFH required to elicit a response was recorded as paw withdrawal threshold (PWT). VFH test was performed at 0.5, 1 and 2 hr post-dosing. Experimental data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Dunn's test for multiple comparisons or Mann-Whitney U-test for paired comparison.

Caco-2 Permeability

Caco-2 permeability was measured according to the method described in Shiyin Yee, Pharmaceutical Research, 763 (1997).

Caco-2 cells were grown on filter supports (Falcon HTS multiwell insert system) for 14 days. Culture medium was removed from both the apical and basolateral compartments and the monolayers were preincubated with pre-warmed 0.3 ml apical buffer and 1.0 ml basolateral buffer for 0.75 hour at 37° C. in a shaker water bath at 50 cycles/min. The apical buffer consisted of Hanks Balanced Salt Solution, 25 mM D-glucose monohydrate, 20 mM MES Biological Buffer, 1.25 mM CaCl₂ and 0.5 mM MgCl₂ (pH 6.5). The basolateral buffer consisted of Hanks Balanced Salt Solution, 25 mM D-glucose monohydrate, 20 mM HEPES Biological Buffer, 1.25 mM CaCl₂ and 0.5 mM MgCl₂ (pH 7.4). At the end of the preincubation, the media was removed and test compound solution (10 μM) in buffer was added to the apical compartment. The inserts were moved to wells containing fresh basolateral buffer and incubated for 1 hr. Drug concentration in the buffer was measured by LC/MS analysis.

Flux rate (F, mass/time) was calculated from the slope of cumulative appearance of substrate on the receiver side and apparent permeability coefficient (Papp) was calculated from the following equation. P _(app)(cm/sec)=(F*VD)/(SA*MD)

where SA is surface area for transport (0.3 cm²), VD is the donor volume (0.3 ml), MD is the total amount of drug on the donor side at t=0. All data represent the mean of 2 inserts. Monolayer integrity was determined by Lucifer Yellow transport.

Human Dofetilide Binding

Cell paste of HEK-293 cells expressing the HERG product can be suspended in 10-fold volume of 50 mM Tris buffer adjusted at pH 7.5 at 25° C. with 2 M HCl containing 1 mM MgCl₂, 10 mM KCl. The cells were homogenized using a Polytron homogenizer (at the maximum power for 20 seconds) and centrifuged at 48,000 g for 20 minutes at 4° C. The pellet was resuspended, homogenized and centrifuged once more in the same manner. The resultant supernatant was discarded and the final pellet was resuspended (10-fold volume of 50 mM Tris buffer) and homogenized at the maximum power for 20 seconds. The membrane homogenate was aliquoted and stored at −80° C. until use. An aliquot was used for protein concentration determination using a Protein Assay Rapid Kit and ARVO SX plate reader (Wallac). All the manipulation, stock solution and equipment were kept on ice at all time. For saturation assays, experiments were conducted in a total volume of 200 μl. Saturation was determined by incubating 20 μl of [³H]-dofetilide and 160 μl of membrane homogenates (20-30 μg protein per well) for 60 min at room temperature in the absence or presence of 10 μM dofetilide at final concentrations (201 μl) for total or nonspecific binding, respectively. All incubations were terminated by rapid vacuum filtration over polyetherimide (PEI) soaked glass fiber filter papers using Skatron cell harvester followed by two washes with 50 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.5 at 25° C.). Receptor-bound radioactivity was quantified by liquid scintillation counting using Packard LS counter.

For the competition assay, compounds were diluted in 96 well polypropylene plates as 4-point dilutions in semi-log format. All dilutions were performed in DMSO first and then transferred into 50 mM Tris buffer (pH 7.5 at 25° C.) containing 1 mM MgCl₂, 10 mM KCl so that the final DMSO concentration became equal to 1%. Compounds were dispensed in triplicate in assay plates (4 μl). Total binding and nonspecific binding wells were set up in 6 wells as vehicle and 10 μM dofetilide at final concentration, respectively. The radioligand was prepared at 5.6× final concentration and this solution was added to each well (36 μl). The assay was initiated by addition of YSi poly-L-lysine Scintillation Proximity Assay (SPA) beads (50 μl, 1 mg/well) and membranes (110 μl, 20 μg/well). Incubation was continued for 60 min at room temperature. Plates were incubated for a further 3 hours at room temperature for beads to settle. Receptor-bound radioactivity was quantified by counting Wallac MicroBeta plate counter.

I_(HERG) Assay

HEK 293 cells which stably express the HERG potassium channel were used for electrophysiological study. The methodology for stable transfection of this channel in HEK cells can be found elsewhere (Z. Zhou et al., 1998, Biophysical Journal, 74, pp230-241). Before the day of experimentation, the cells were harvested from culture flasks and plated onto glass coverslips in a standard Minimum Essential Medium (MEM) medium with 10% Fetal Calf Serum (FCS). The plated cells were stored in an incubator at 37° C. maintained in an atmosphere of 95% O₂/5% CO₂. Cells were studied between 15-28 hrs after harvest.

HERG currents were studied using standard patch clamp techniques in the whole-cell mode. During the experiment the cells were superfused with a standard external solution of the following composition (mM); NaCl, 130; KCl, 4; CaCl₂, 2; MgCl₂, 1; Glucose, 10; HEPES, 5; pH 7.4 with NaOH. Whole-cell recordings was made using a patch clamp amplifier and patch pipettes which have a resistance of 1-3 MOhm when filled with the standard internal solution of the following composition (mM); KCl, 130; MgATP, 5; MgCl₂, 1.0; HEPES, 10; EGTA5, pH 7.2 with KOH. Only those cells with access resistances below 15MΩ and seal resistances >1 GΩ was accepted for further experimentation. Series resistance compensation was applied up to a maximum of 80%. No leak subtraction was done. However, acceptable access resistance depended on the size of the recorded currents and the level of series resistance compensation that can safely be used. Following the achievement of whole cell configuration and sufficient time for cell dialysis with pipette solution (>5 min), a standard voltage protocol was applied to the cell to evoke membrane currents. The voltage protocol is as follows. The membrane was depolarized from a holding potential of −80 mV to +40 mV for 1000 ms. This was followed by a descending voltage ramp (rate 0.5 mV msec⁻¹) back to the holding potential. The voltage protocol was applied to a cell continuously throughout the experiment every 4 seconds (0.25 Hz). The amplitude of the peak current elicited around −40 mV during the ramp was measured. Once stable evoked current responses were obtained in the external solution, vehicle (0.5% DMSO in the standard external solution) was applied for 10-20 min by a peristalic pump. Provided there were minimal changes in the amplitude of the evoked current response in the vehicle control condition, the test compound of either 0.3, 1, 3, 10 μM was applied for a 10 min period. The 10 min period included the time which supplying solution was passing through the tube from solution reservoir to the recording chamber via the pump. Exposing time of cells to the compound solution was more than 5 min after the drug concentration in the chamber well reached the attempting concentration. There was a subsequent wash period of a 10-20 min to assess reversibility. Finally, the cells were exposed to high dose of dofetilide (5 μM), a specific IKr blocker, to evaluate the insensitive endogenous current.

All experiments were performed at room temperature (23±1° C.). Evoked membrane currents were recorded on-line on a computer, filtered at 500-1 KHz (Bessel −3 dB) and sampled at 1-2 KHz using the patch clamp amplifier and a specific data analyzing software. Peak current amplitude, which occurred at around −40 mV, was measured off line on the computer.

The arithmetic mean of the ten values of amplitude was calculated under vehicle control conditions and in the presence of drug. Percent decrease of I_(N) in each experiment was obtained by the normalized current value using the following formula: I_(N)=(1−I_(D)/I_(C))×100, where I_(D) is the mean current value in the presence of drug and I_(C) is the mean current value under control conditions. Separate experiments were performed for each drug concentration or time-matched control, and arithmetic mean in each experiment is defined as the result of the study.

Drug-Drug Interaction Assay

This method essentially involves determining the percent inhibition of product formation from fluorescence probe at 3 μM of the each compound.

More specifically, the assay is carried out as follows. The compounds were pre-incubated with recombinant CYPs, 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer and fluorescence probe as substrate for 5 min. Reaction was started by adding a warmed NADPH generating system, which consist of 0.5 mM NADP (expect; for 2D6 0.03 mM), 10 mM MgCl₂, 6.2 mM DL-Isocitric acid and 0.5 U/ml Isocitric Dehydrogenase (ICD). The assay plate was incubated at 37° C. (expect; for 1A2 and 3A4 at 30° C.) and taking fluoresce reading every minutes over 20 to 30 min.

Data calculations were preceded as follows;

-   1. The slope (Time vs. Fluorescence units) was calculated at the     linear region -   2. The percentage of inhibition in compounds was calculated by the     equation     {(v _(o) −v _(i))/v _(o)}×100=% inhibition

Wherein

v_(o)=rate of control reaction (no inhibitor)

v_(i)=rate of reaction in the presence of compounds.

TABLE 1 Condition for drug-drug interaction assay. 1A2 2C9 2C19 2D6 3A4 Substrate Vivid blue MFC Vivid blue AMMC Vivid red (Aurora) (Gentest) (Aurora) (Gentest) (Aurora) Substrate 10 30 10  1 2 (μM) Enzyme 50 50  5 50 5 (pmol) EX./Em(λ) 408/465 408/535 408/465 400/465 530/595 Half-Life in Human Liver Microsomes (HLM)

Test compounds (1 μM) were incubated with 3.3 mM MgCl₂ and 0.78 mg/mL HLM (HL101) in 100 mM potassium phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) at 37° C. on the 96-deep well plate. The reaction mixture was split into two groups, a non-P450 and a P450 group. NADPH was only added to the reaction mixture of the P450 group. An aliquot of samples of P450 group was collected at 0, 10, 30, and 60 min time point, where 0 min time point indicated the time when NADPH was added into the reaction mixture of P450 group. An aliquot of samples of non-P450 group was collected at −10 and 65 min time point. Collected aliquots were extracted with acetonitrile solution containing an internal standard. The precipitated protein was spun down in centrifuge (2000 rpm, 15 min). The compound concentration in supernatant was measured by LC/MS/MS system.

The half-life value was obtained by plotting the natural logarithm of the peak area ratio of compounds/internal standard versus time. The slope of the line of best fit through the points yields the rate of metabolism (k). This was converted to a half-life value using following equations: Half-life=ln 2/k Mono-Iodoacetate (MIA)-Induced OA Model

Male 6-weeks-old Sprague-Dawley (SD, Japan SLC or Charles River Japan) rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital. Injection site (knee) of MIA was shaved and cleaned with 70% ethanol. Twenty-five μl of MIA solution or saline was injected in the right knee joint using a 29G needle. The effect of joint damage on the weight distribution through the right (damaged) and left (untreated) knee was assessed using an incapacitance tester (Linton Instrumentation, Norfolk, UK). The force exerted by each hind limb was measured in grams. The weight-bearing (WB) deficit was determined by a difference of weight loaded on each paw. Rats were trained to measure the WB once a week until 20 days post MIA-injection. Analgesic effects of compounds were measured at 21 days after the MIA injection. Before the compound administration, the “pre value” of WB deficit was measured. After the administration of compounds, attenuation of WB deficits was determined as analgesic effects.

Complete Freund's Adjuvant (CFA) Induced Thermal and Mechanical Hyperalgesia in Rats

Thermal Hyperalgesia

Male 6-week-old SD rats were used. Complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA, 300 μg of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis H37RA (Difco, Mich.) in 100 μL of liquid paraffin (Wako, Osaka, Japan)) was injected into the plantar surface of hind paw of the rats. Two days after CFA-injection, thermal hyperalgesia was determined by method described previously (Hargreaves et al., 1988) using the plantar test apparatus (Ugo-Basil, Varese, Italy). Rats were adapted to the testing environment for at least 15 min prior to any stimulation. Radiant heat was applied to the plantar surface of hind paw and paw withdrawal latencies (PWL, seconds) were determined. The intensity of radiant heat was adjusted to produce the stable PWL of 10 to 15 seconds. The test compound was administered in a volume of 0.5 mL per 100 g body weight. PWL were measured after 1, 3 or 5 hours after drug administration.

Mechanical Hyperalcesia

Male 4-week-old SD rats were used. CFA (300 μg of Mycobacterium Tuberculosis H37RA (Difco, Mich.) in 100 μL of liquid paraffin (Wako, Osaka, Japan)) was injected into the plantar surface of hind paw of the rats. Two days after CFA-injection, mechanical hyperalgesia was tested by measuring paw withdrawal threshold (PWT, grams) to pressure using the analgesy-Meter (Ugo-Basil, Varese, Italy). The animals were gently restrained, and steadily increasing pressure was applied to the dorsal surface of a hind paw via a plastic tip. The pressure required to elicit paw withdrawal was determined. The test compound was administered in a volume of 0.5 mL per 100 g body weight. PWT were measured after 1, 3 or 5 hours after drug administration.

The compounds of the examples were tested in the Human VR1 antagonist assay described above. The IC₅₀ values are presented in the following table.

TABLE 2 Example # IC₅₀ (nM)  1 421  2 111  3 97  4 86  5 462  6 172  7 175  8 481  9 478 10 413 11 837 12 286 13 50 14 31 15 71 16 145 17 1227 18 1583 Capsazepine 250-350 (control) Drug Substance

Pharmaceutically acceptable salts of the compounds of formula (I) include the acid addition and base salts thereof.

Suitable acid addition salts are formed from acids which form non-toxic salts. Examples include acetate, aspartate, benzoate, besylate, bicarbonate/carbonate, bisulphate/sulphate, borate, camsylate, citrate, edisylate, esylate, formate, fumarate, gluceptate, gluconate, glucuronate, hexafluorophosphate, hibenzate, hydrochloride/chloride, hydrobromide/bromide, hydroiodide/iodide, isethionate, lactate, malate, maleate, malonate, mesylate, methylsulphate, naphthylate, 2-napsylate, nicotinate, nitrate, orotate, oxalate, palmitate, pamoate, phosphate/hydrogen phosphate/dihydrogen phosphate, saccharate, stearate, succinate, tartrate, tosylate and trifluoroacetate salts.

Suitable base salts are formed from bases which form non-toxic salts. Examples include the aluminum, arginine, benzathine, calcium, choline, diethylamine, diolamine, glycine, lysine, magnesium, meglumine, olamine, potassium, sodium, tromethamine and zinc salts.

For a review on suitable salts, see “Handbook of Pharmaceutical Salts: Properties, Selection, and Use” by Stahl and Wermuth (Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, Germany, 2002).

A pharmaceutically acceptable salt of a compound of formula (I) may be readily prepared by mixing together solutions of the compound of formula (I) and the desired acid or base, as appropriate. The salt may precipitate from solution and be collected by filtration or may be recovered by evaporation of the solvent. The degree of ionization in the salt may vary from completely ionized to almost non-ionized.

The compounds of the invention may exist in both unsolvated and solvated forms. The term ‘solvate’ is used herein to describe a molecular complex comprising the compound of the invention and one or more pharmaceutically acceptable solvent molecules, for example, ethanol. The term ‘hydrate’ is employed when said solvent is water.

Included within the scope of the invention are complexes such as clathrates, drug-host inclusion complexes wherein, in contrast to the aforementioned solvates, the drug and host are present in stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric amounts. Also included are complexes of the drug containing two or more organic and/or inorganic components which may be in stoichiometric or non-stoichiometric amounts. The resulting complexes may be ionized, partially ionized, or non-ionized. For a review of such complexes, see J Pharm Sci, 64 (8), 1269-1288 by Haleblian (August 1975).

Hereinafter all references to compounds of formula (I) include references to salts, solvates and complexes thereof and to solvates and complexes of salts thereof.

The compounds of the invention include compounds of formula (i) as hereinbefore defined, polymorphs, prodrugs, and isomers thereof (including optical, geometric and tautomeric isomers) as hereinafter defined and isotopically-labeled compounds of formula (I).

As stated, the invention includes all polymorphs of the compounds of formula (I) as hereinbefore defined.

Also within the scope of the invention are so-called ‘prodrugs’ of the compounds of formula (I). Thus certain derivatives of compounds of formula (I) which may have little or no pharmacological activity themselves can, when administered into or onto the body, be converted into compounds of formula (I) having the desired activity, for example, by hydrolytic cleavage. Such derivatives are referred to as ‘prodrugs’. Further information on the use of prodrugs may be found in ‘Pro-drugs as Novel Delivery Systems, Vol. 14, ACS Symposium Series (T Higuchi and W Stella) and ‘Bioreversible Carriers in Drug Design’, Pergamon Press, 1987 (ed. E B Roche, American Pharmaceutical Association).

Prodrugs in accordance with the invention can, for example, be produced by replacing appropriate functionalities present in the compounds of formula (I) with certain moieties known to those skilled in the art as ‘pro-moieties’ as described, for example, in “Design of Prodrugs” by H Bundgaard (Elsevier, 1985).

Some examples of prodrugs in accordance with the invention include:

-   (i) where the compound of formula (I) contains a carboxylic acid     functionality (—COOH), an ester thereof, for example, replacement of     the hydrogen with (C₁-C₈)alkyl; -   (ii) where the compound of formula (I) contains an alcohol     functionality (—OH), an ether thereof, for example, replacement of     the hydrogen with (C₁-C₆)alkanoyloxymethyl; and -   (iii) where the compound of formula (I) contains a primary or     secondary amino functionality (—NH₂ or —NHR where R is not H), an     amide thereof, for example, replacement of one or both hydrogens     with (C₁-C₁₀)alkanoyl.

Further examples of replacement groups in accordance with the foregoing examples and examples of other prodrug types may be found in the aforementioned references.

Finally, certain compounds of formula (I) may themselves act as prodrugs of other compounds of formula (I).

Compounds of formula (I) containing one or more asymmetric carbon atoms can exist as two or more stereoisomers. Where a compound of formula (I) contains an alkenyl or alkenylene group, geometric cis/trans (or Z/E) isomers are possible. Where the compound contains, for example, a keto or oxime group or an aromatic moiety, tautomeric isomerism (‘tautomerism’) can occur. It follows that a single compound may exhibit more than one type of isomerism.

Included within the scope of the present invention are all stereoisomers, geometric isomers and tautomeric forms of the compounds of formula (I), including compounds exhibiting more than one type of isomerism, and mixtures of one or more thereof. Also included are acid addition or base salts wherein the counterion is optically active, for example, D-lactate or L-lysine, or racemic, for example, DL-tartrate or DL-arginine.

Cis/trans isomers may be separated by conventional techniques well known to those skilled in the art, for example, chromatography and fractional crystallization.

Conventional techniques for the preparation/isolation of individual enantiomers include chiral synthesis from a suitable optically pure precursor or resolution of the racemate (or the racemate of a salt or derivative) using, for example, chiral high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC).

Alternatively, the racemate (or a racemic precursor) may be reacted with a suitable optically active compound, for example, an alcohol, or, in the case where the compound of formula (I) contains an acidic or basic moiety, an acid or base such as tartaric acid or 1-phenylethylamine. The resulting diastereomeric mixture may be separated by chromatography and/or fractional crystallization and one or both of the diastereoisomers converted to the corresponding pure enantiomer(s) by means well known to a skilled person.

Chiral compounds of the invention (and chiral precursors thereof) may be obtained in enantiomerically-enriched form using chromatography, typically HPLC, on an asymmetric resin with a mobile phase consisting of a hydrocarbon, typically heptane or hexane, containing from 0 to 50% isopropanol, typically from 2 to 20%, and from 0 to 5% of an alkylamine, typically 0.1% diethylamine. Concentration of the eluate affords the enriched mixture.

Stereoisomeric conglomerates may be separated by conventional techniques known to those skilled in the art—see, for example, “Stereochemistry of Organic Compounds” by E L Eliel (Wiley, New York, 1994).

The present invention includes all pharmaceutically acceptable isotopically-labelled compounds of formula (I) wherein one or more atoms are replaced by atoms having the same atomic number, but an atomic mass or mass number different from the atomic mass or mass number usually found in nature. Examples of isotopes suitable for inclusion in the compounds of the invention include isotopes of hydrogen, such as ²H and ³H, carbon, such as ¹¹C, ¹³C and ¹⁴C, chlorine, such as ³⁶Cl, fluorine, such as ¹⁸F, iodine, such as ¹²³I and ¹²⁵I, nitrogen, such as ¹³N and ¹⁵N, oxygen, such as ¹⁵O, ¹⁷O and ¹⁸O, phosphorus, such as ³²P, and sulphur, such as ³⁵S. Certain isotopically-labelled compounds of formula (I), for example, those incorporating a radioactive isotope, are useful in drug and/or substrate tissue distribution studies. The radioactive isotopes tritium, i.e. ³H, and carbon-14, i.e. ¹⁴C, are particularly useful for this purpose in view of their ease of incorporation and ready means of detection. Substitution with heavier isotopes such as deuterium, ie. ²H, may afford certain therapeutic advantages resulting from greater metabolic stability, for example, increased in vivo half-life or reduced dosage requirements, and hence may be preferred in some circumstances. Substitution with positron emitting isotopes, such as ¹¹C, ¹⁸F, ¹⁵O and ¹³N, can be useful in Positron Emission Topography (PET) studies for examining substrate receptor occupancy. Isotopically-labeled compounds of formula (I) can generally be prepared by conventional techniques known to those skilled in the art or by processes analogous to those described in the accompanying Examples and Preparations using an appropriate isotopically-labeled reagents in place of the non-labeled reagent previously employed.

Pharmaceutically acceptable solvates in accordance with the invention include those wherein the solvent of crystallization may be isotopically substituted, e.g. D₂O, d₆-acetone, d₆-DMSO.

Compounds of the invention intended for pharmaceutical use may be administered as crystalline or amorphous products. They may be obtained, for example, as solid plugs, powders, or films by methods such as precipitation, crystallization, freeze drying, or spray drying, or evaporative drying. Microwave or radio frequency drying may be used for this purpose.

They may be administered alone or in combination with one or more other compounds of the invention or in combination with one or more other drugs (or as any combination thereof). Generally, they will be administered as a formulation in association with one or more pharmaceutically acceptable excipients. The term “excipient” is used herein to describe any ingredient other than the compound(s) of the invention. The choice of excipient will to a large extent depend on factors such as the particular mode of administration, the effect of the excipient on solubility and stability, and the nature of the dosage form.

Pharmaceutical compositions suitable for the delivery of compounds of the present invention and methods for their preparation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Such compositions and methods for their preparation may be found, for example, in ‘Remington's Pharmaceutical Sciences’, 19th Edition (Mack Publishing Company, 1995).

Oral Administration

The compounds of the invention may be administered orally. Oral administration may involve swallowing, so that the compound enters the gastrointestinal tract, or buccal or sublingual administration may be employed by which the compound enters the blood stream directly from the mouth.

Formulations suitable for oral administration include solid formulations such as tablets, capsules containing particulates, liquids, or powders, lozenges (including liquid-filled), chews, multi- and nano-particulates, gels, solid solution, liposome, films (including muco-adhesive), ovules, sprays and liquid formulations.

Liquid formulations include suspensions, solutions, syrups and elixirs. Such formulations may be employed as fillers in soft or hard capsules and typically comprise a carrier, for example, water, ethanol, polyethylene glycol, propylene glycol, methylcellulose, or a suitable oil, and one or more emulsifying agents and/or suspending agents. Liquid formulations may also be prepared by the reconstitution of a solid, for example, from a sachet.

The compounds of the invention may also be used in fast-dissolving, fast-disintegrating dosage forms such as those described in Expert Opinion in Therapeutic Patents, 11 (6), 981-986 by Liang and Chen (2001).

For tablet dosage forms, depending on dose, the drug may make up from 1 wt % to 80 wt % of the dosage form, more typically from 5 wt % to 60 wt % of the dosage form. In addition to the drug, tablets generally contain a disintegrant. Examples of disintegrants include sodium starch glycolate, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, calcium carboxymethyl cellulose, croscarmellose sodium, crospovidone, polyvinylpyrrolidone, methyl cellulose, microcrystalline cellulose, lower alkyl-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose, starch, pregelatinised starch and sodium alginate. Generally, the disintegrant will comprise from 1 wt % to 25 wt %, preferably from 5 wt % to 20 wt % of the dosage form.

Binders are generally used to impart cohesive qualities to a tablet formulation. Suitable binders include microcrystalline cellulose, gelatin, sugars, polyethylene glycol, natural and synthetic gums, polyvinylpyrrolidone, pregelatinised starch, hydroxypropyl cellulose and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose. Tablets may also contain diluents, such as lactose (monohydrate, spray-dried monohydrate, anhydrous and the like), mannitol, xylitol, dextrose, sucrose, sorbitol, microcrystalline cellulose, starch and dibasic calcium phosphate dihydrate.

Tablets may also optionally comprise surface active agents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate and polysorbate 80, and glidants such as silicon dioxide and talc. When present, surface active agents may comprise from 0.2 wt % to 5 wt % of the tablet, and glidants may comprise from 0.2 wt % to 1 wt % of the tablet.

Tablets also generally contain lubricants such as magnesium stearate, calcium stearate, zinc stearate, sodium stearyl fumarate, and mixtures of magnesium stearate with sodium lauryl sulphate. Lubricants generally comprise from 0.25 wt % to 10 wt %, preferably from 0.5 wt % to 3 wt % of the tablet.

Other possible ingredients include anti-oxidants, colorants, flavouring agents, preservatives and taste-masking agents.

Exemplary tablets contain up to about 80% drug, from about 10 wt % to about 90 wt % binder, from about 0 wt % to about 85 wt % diluent, from about 2 wt % to about 10 wt % disintegrant, and from about 0.25 wt % to about 10 wt % lubricant.

Tablet blends may be compressed directly or by roller to form tablets. Tablet blends or portions of blends may alternatively be wet-, dry-, or melt-granulated, melt congealed, or extruded before tabletting. The final formulation may comprise one or more layers and may be coated or uncoated; it may even be encapsulated.

The formulation of tablets is discussed in “Pharmaceutical Dosage Forms: Tablets, Vol. 1”, by H. Lieberman and L. Lachman, Marcel Dekker, N.Y., N.Y., 1980 (ISBN 0-8247-6918-X).

Solid formulations for oral administration may be formulated to be immediate and/or modified controlled release. Modified release formulations include delayed-, sustained-, pulsed-, controlled-, targeted and programmed release.

Suitable modified release formulations for the purposes of the invention are described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,106,864. Details of other suitable release technologies such as high energy dispersions and osmotic and coated particles are to be found in Verma et al, Pharmaceutical Technology On-line, 25(2), 1-14 (2001). The use of chewing gum to achieve controlled release is described in WO 00/35298.

Parenteral Administration

The compounds of the invention may also be administered directly into the blood stream, into muscle, or into an internal organ. Suitable means for parenteral administration include intravenous, intraarterial, intraperitoneal, intrathecal, intraventricular, intraurethral, intrasternal, intracranial, intramuscular and subcutaneous. Suitable devices for parenteral administration include needle (including microneedle) injectors, needle-free injectors and infusion techniques.

Parenteral formulations are typically aqueous solutions which may contain excipients such as salts, carbohydrates and buffering agents (preferably. to a pH of from 3 to 9), but, for some applications, they may be more suitably formulated as a sterile non-aqueous solution or as powdered a dried form to be used in conjunction with a suitable vehicle such as sterile, pyrogen-free water.

The preparation of parenteral formulations under sterile conditions, for example, by lyophilisation, may readily be accomplished using standard pharmaceutical techniques well known to those skilled in the art.

The solubility of compounds of formula (I) used in the preparation of parenteral solutions may be increased by the use of appropriate formulation techniques, such as the incorporation of solubility-enhancing agents. Formulations for use with needle-free injection administration comprise a compound of the invention in powdered form in conjunction with a suitable vehicle such as sterile, pyrogen-free water.

Formulations for parenteral administration may be formulated to be immediate and/or modified controlled release. Modified release formulations include delayed-, sustained-, pulsed-, controlled-, targeted and programmed release. Thus compounds of the invention may be formulated as a solid, semi-solid, or thixotropic liquid for administration as an implanted depot providing modified release of the active compound. Examples of such formulations include drug-coated stents and PGLA microspheres.

Topical Administration

The compounds of the invention may also be administered topically to the skin or mucosa, that is, dermally or transdermally. Typical formulations for this purpose include gels, hydrogels, lotions, solutions, creams, ointments, dusting powders, dressings, foams, films, skin patches, wafers, implants, sponges, fibres, bandages and microemulsions. Liposomes may also be used. Typical carriers include alcohol, water, mineral oil, liquid petrolatum, white petrolatum, glycerin, polyethylene glycol and propylene glycol. Penetration enhancers may be incorporated—see, for example, J Pharm Sci, 88 (10), 955-958 by Finnin and Morgan (October 1999).

Other means of topical administration include delivery by electroporation, iontophoresis, phonophoresis, sonophoresis and microneedle or needle-free (e.g. Powderject™, Bioject™, etc.) injection.

Formulations for topical administration may be formulated to be immediate and/or modified controlled release. Modified release formulations include delayed-, sustained-, pulsed-, controlled-, targeted and programmed release.

Inhaled/Intranasal Administration

The compounds of the invention can also be administered intranasally or by inhalation, typically in the form of a dry powder (either alone, as a mixture, for example, in a dry blend with lactose, or as a mixed component particle, for example, mixed with phospholipids, such as phosphatidylcholine) from a dry powder inhaler or as an aerosol spray from a pressurized container, pump, spray, atomiser (preferably an atomiser using electrohydrodynamics to produce a fine mist), or nebuliser, with or without the use of a suitable propellant, such as 1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane or 1,1,1,2,3,3,3-heptafluoropropane. For intranasal use, the powder may comprise a bioadhesive agent, for example, chitosan or cyclodextrin.

The pressurized container, pump, spray, atomizer, or nebuliser contains a solution or suspension of the compound(s) of the invention comprising, for example, ethanol, aqueous ethanol, or a suitable alternative agent for dispersing, solubilising, or extending release of the active, a propellant(s) as solvent and an optional surfactant, such as sorbitan trioleate, oleic acid, or an oligolactic acid.

Prior to use in a dry powder or suspension formulation, the drug product is micronised to a size suitable for delivery by inhalation (typically less than 5 microns). This may be achieved by any appropriate comminuting method, such as spiral jet milling, fluid bed jet milling, supercritical fluid processing to form nanoparticles, high pressure homogenisation, or spray drying.

Capsules (made, for example, from gelatin or HPMC), blisters and cartridges for use in an inhaler or insufflator may be formulated to contain a powder mix of the compound of the invention, a suitable powder base such as lactose or starch and a performance modifier such as l-leucine, mannitol, or magnesium stearate. The lactose may be anhydrous or in the form of the monohydrate, preferably the latter. Other suitable excipients include dextran, glucose, maltose, sorbitol, xylitol, fructose, sucrose and trehalose.

A suitable solution formulation for use in an atomiser using electrohydrodynamics to produce a fine mist may contain from 1 μg to 20 mg of the compound of the invention per actuation and the actuation volume may vary from 1 μl to 100 μl. A typical formulation may comprise a compound of formula (I), propylene glycol, sterile water, ethanol and sodium chloride. Alternative solvents which may be used instead of propylene glycol include glycerol and polyethylene glycol.

Suitable flavours, such as menthol and levomenthol, or sweeteners, such as saccharin or saccharin sodium, may be added to those formulations of the invention intended for inhaled/intranasal administration.

Formulations for inhaled/intranasal administration may be formulated to be immediate and/or modified controlled release using, for example, poly(DL-lactic-coglycolic acid (PGLA). Modified release formulations include delayed-, sustained-, pulsed-, controlled-, targeted and programmed release.

In the case of dry powder inhalers and aerosols, the dosage unit is determined by means of a valve which delivers a metered amount. Units in accordance with the invention are typically arranged to administer a metered dose or “puff” containing from 1 μg to 10 mg of the compound of formula (I). The overall daily dose will typically be in the range 1 μg to 10 mg which may be administered in a single dose or, more usually, as divided doses throughout the day.

Rectal/Intravaginal Administration

The compounds of the invention may be administered rectally or vaginally, for example, in the form of a suppository, pessary, or enema. Cocoa butter is a traditional suppository base, but various alternatives may be used as appropriate.

Formulations for rectal/vaginal administration may be formulated to be immediate and/or modified controlled release. Modified release formulations include delayed-, sustained-, pulsed-, controlled-, targeted and programmed release.

Other Technologies

The compounds of the invention may be combined with soluble macromolecular entities, such as cyclodextrin and suitable derivatives thereof or polyethylene glycol-containing polymers, in order to improve their solubility, dissolution rate, taste-masking, bioavailability and/or stability for use in any of the aforementioned modes of administration.

Drug-cyclodextrin complexes, for example, are found to be generally useful for most dosage forms and administration routes. Both inclusion and non-inclusion complexes may be used. As an alternative to direct complexation with the drug, the cyclodextrin may be used as an auxiliary additive, i.e. as a carrier, diluent, or solubiliser. Most commonly used for these purposes are alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins, examples of which may be found in International Patent Applications Nos. WO 91/11172, WO 94/02518 and WO 98/55148.

Dosage

For administration to human patients, the total daily dose of the compounds of the invention is typically in the range 0.1 mg to 3000 mg, preferably from 1 mg to 500 mg, depending, of course, on the mode of administration. For example, oral administration may require a total daily dose of from 0.1 mg to 3000 mg, preferably from 1 mg to 500 mg, while an intravenous dose may only require from 0.1 mg to 1000 mg, preferably from 0.1 mg to 300 mg. The total daily dose may be administered in single or divided doses.

These dosages are based on an average human subject having a weight of about 65 kg to 70 kg. The physician will readily be able to determine doses for subjects whose weight falls outside this range, such as infants and the elderly.

For the avoidance of doubt, references herein to “treatment” include references to curative, palliative and prophylactic treatment.

A VR1 antagonist may be usefully combined with another pharmacologically active compound, or with two or more other pharmacologically active compounds, particularly in the treatment of pain. For example, a VR1 antagonist, particularly a compound of formula (I), or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt or solvate thereof, as defined above, may be administered simultaneously, sequentially or separately in combination with one or more agents selected from:

-   -   an opioid analgesic, e.g. morphine, heroin, hydromorphone,         oxymorphone, levorphanol, levallorphan, methadone, meperidine,         fentanyl, cocaine, codeine, dihydrocodeine, oxycodone,         hydrocodone, propoxyphene, nalmefene, nalorphine, naloxone,         naltrexone, buprenorphine, butorphanol, nalbuphine or         pentazocine;     -   a nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID), e.g. aspirin,         diclofenac, diflusinal, etodolac, fenbufen, fenoprofen,         flufenisal, flurbiprofen, ibuprofen, indomethacin, ketoprofen,         ketorolac, meclofenamic acid, mefenamic acid, meloxicam,         nabumetone, naproxen, nimesulide, nitroflurbiprofen, olsalazine,         oxaprozin, phenylbutazone, piroxicam, sulfasalazine, sulindac,         tolmetin or zomepirac;     -   a barbiturate sedative, e.g. amobarbital, aprobarbital,         butabarbital, butabital, mephobarbital, metharbital,         methohexital, pentobarbital, phenobartital, secobarbital,         talbutal, theamylal or thiopental;     -   a benzodiazepine having a sedative action, e.g.         chlordiazepoxide, clorazepate, diazepam, flurazepam, lorazepam,         oxazepam, temazepam or triazolam;     -   an H₁ antagonist having a sedative action, e.g. diphenhydramine,         pyrilamine, promethazine, chlorpheniramine or chlorcyclizine;     -   a sedative such as glutethimide, meprobamate, methaqualone or         dichloralphenazone;     -   a skeletal muscle relaxant, e.g. baclofen, carisoprodol,         chlorzoxazone, cyclobenzaprine, methocarbamol or orphrenadine;     -   an NMDA receptor antagonist, e.g. dextromethorphan         ((+)-3-hydroxy-N-methylmorphinan) or its metabolite dextrorphan         ((+)-3-hydroxy-N-methylmorphinan), ketamine, memantine,         pyrroloquinoline quinine,         cis-4-(phosphonomethyl)-2-piperidinecarboxylic acid, budipine,         EN-3231 (MorphiDex®, a combination formulation of morphine and         dextromethorphan), topiramate, neramexane or perzinfotel         including an NR2B antagonist, e.g. ifenprodil, traxoprodil or         (−)-(R)-6-{2-[4-(3-fluorophenyl)-4-hydroxy-1-piperidinyl]-1-hydroxyethyl-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolin         one;     -   an alpha-adrenergic, e.g. doxazosin, tamsulosin, clonidine,         guanfacine, dexmetatomidine, modafinil, or         4-amino-6,7-dimethoxy-2-(5-methane-sulfonamido-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinol-2-yl)-5-(2-pyridyl)         quinazoline;     -   a tricyclic antidepressant, e.g. desipramine, imipramine,         amitriptyline or nortriptyline;     -   an anticonvulsant, e.g. carbamazepine, lamotrigine, topiratmate         or valproate;     -   a tachykinin (NK) antagonist, particularly an NK-3, NK-2 or NK-1         antagonist, e.g.         (αR,9R)-7-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)benzyl]-8,9,10,11-tetrahydro-9-methyl-5-(4-methylphenyl)-7H-[1,4]diazocino[2,1-g][1,7]-naphthyridine-6-13-dione         (TAK-637),         5-[[(2R,3S)-2-[(1R)-1-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]ethoxy-3-(4-fluorophenyl)-4-morpholinyl]-methyl]-1,2-dihydro-3H-1,2,4-triazol-3-one         (MK-869), aprepitant, lanepitant, dapitant or         3-[[2-methoxy-5-(trifluoromethoxy)phenyl]-methylamino]-2-phenylpiperidine         (2S,3S);     -   a muscarinic antagonist, e.g oxybutynin, tolterodine,         propiverine, tropsium chloride, darifenacin, solifenacin,         temiverine and ipratropium;     -   a COX-2 selective inhibitor, e.g. celecoxib, rofecoxib,         parecoxib, valdecoxib, deracoxib, etoricoxib, or lumiracoxib;     -   a coal-tar analgesic, in particular paracetamol;     -   a neuroleptic such as droperidol, chlorpromazine, haloperidol,         perphenazine, thioridazine, mesoridazine, trifluoperazine,         fluphenazine, clozapine, olanzapine, risperidone, ziprasidone,         quetiapine, sertindole, aripiprazole, sonepiprazole,         blonanserin, iloperidone, perospirone, raclopride, zotepine,         bifeprunox, asenapine, lurasidone, amisulpride, balaperidone,         palindore, eplivanserin, osanetant, rimonabant, meclinertant,         Miraxion® or sarizotan;     -   a vanilloid receptor agonist (e.g. resinferatoxin) or antagonist         (e.g. capsazepine);     -   a beta-adrenergic such as propranolol;     -   a local anaesthetic such as mexiletine;     -   a corticosteroid such as dexamethasone;     -   a 5-HT receptor agonist or antagonist, particularly a         5-HT_(1B/1D) agonist such as eletriptan, sumatriptan,         naratriptan, zolmitriptan or rizatriptan;     -   a 5-HT_(2A) receptor antagonist such as         R(+)-alpha-(2,3-dimethoxy-phenyl)-1-[2-(4-fluorophenylethyl)]-4-piperidinemethanol         (MDL-100907);     -   a cholinergic (nicotinic) analgesic, such as ispronicline         (TC-1734), (E)-N-methyl-4-(3-pyridinyl)-3-buten-1-amine         (RJR-2403), (R)-5-(2-azetidinylmethoxy)-2-chloropyridine         (ABT-594) or nicotine;     -   Tramadol®;     -   a PDEV inhibitor, such as         5-[2-ethoxy-5-(4-methyl-1-piperazinyl-sulphonyl)phenyl]-1-methyl-3-n-propyl-1,6-dihydro-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one         (sildenafil),         (6R,12aR)-2,3,6,7,12,12a-hexahydro-2-methyl-6-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-pyrazino[2′,1′:6,1]-pyrido[3,4-b]indole-1,4-dione         (IC-351 or tadalafil),         2-[2-ethoxy-5-(4-ethyl-piperazin-1-yl-1-sulphonyl)-phenyl]-5-methyl-7-propyl-3H-imidazo[5,1-f][1,2,4]triazin-4-one         (vardenafil),         5-(5-acetyl-2-butoxy-3-pyridinyl)-3-ethyl-2-(1-ethyl-3-azetidinyl)-2,6-dihydro-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-o]pyrimidin-7-one,         5-(5-acetyl-2-propoxy-3-pyridinyl)-3-ethyl-2-(1-isopropyl-3-azetidinyl)-2,6-dihydro-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one,         5-[2-ethoxy-5-(4-ethylpiperazin-1-ylsulphonyl)pyridin-3-yl]-3-ethyl-2-[2-methoxyethyl]-2,6-dihydro-7H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-7-one,         4-[(3-chloro-4-methoxybenzyl)amino]-2-[(2S)-2-(hydroxymethyl)pyrrolidin-1-yl]-N-(pyrimidin-2-ylmethyl)pyrimidine-5-carboxamide,         3-(1-methyl-7-oxo-3-propyl-6,7-dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidin-5-yl)-N-[2-(1-methylpyrrolidin-2-yl)ethyl]-4-propoxybenzenesulfonamide;     -   an alpha-2-delta ligand such as gabapentin, pregabalin,         3-methylgabapentin,         (1α,3α,5α)(3-amino-methyl-bicyclo[3.2.0]hept-3-yl)-acetic acid,         (3S,5R)-3-aminomethyl-5-methyl-heptanoic acid,         (3S,5R)-3-amino-5-methyl-heptanoic acid,         (3S,5R)-3-amino-5-methyl-octanoic acid,         (2S,4S)-4-(3-chlorophenoxy)proline,         (2S,4S)-4-(3-fluorobenzyl)-proline,         [(1R,5R,6S)-6-(aminomethyl)bicyclo[3.2.0]hept-6-yl]acetic acid,         3-(1-aminomethyl-cyclohexylmethyl)-4H-[1,2,4]oxadiazol-5-one,         C-[1-(1H-tetrazol-5-ylmethyl)-cycloheptyl]-methylamine,         (3S,4S)-(1-aminomethyl-3,4-dimethyl-cyclopentyl)-acetic acid,         (3S,5R)-3-aminomethyl-5-methyl-octanoic acid,         (3S,5R)-3-amino-5-methyl-nonanoic acid,         (3S,5R)-3-amino-5-methyl-octanoic acid,         (3R,4R,5R)-3-amino-4,5-dimethyl-heptanoic acid,         (3R,4R,5R)-3-amino-4,5-dimethyl-octanoic acid,         (2S)-2-Amino-4-ethyl-2-methylhexanoic acid and         (2S)-2-aminomethyl-5-ethyl-heptanoic acid;     -   a cannabinoid;     -   metabotropic glutamate subtype 1 receptor (mGluR1) antagonist;     -   a serotonin reuptake inhibitor such as sertraline, sertraline         metabolite demethylsertraline, fluoxetine, norfluoxetine         (fluoxetine desmethyl metabolite), fluvoxamine, paroxetine,         citalopram, citalopram metabolite desmethylcitalopram,         escitalopram, d,l-fenfluramine, femoxetine, ifoxetine,         cyanodothiepin, litoxetine, dapoxetine, nefazodone, cericlamine         and trazodone;     -   a noradrenaline (norepinephrine) reuptake inhibitor, such as         maprotiline, lofepramine, mirtazepine, oxaprotiline, fezolamine,         tomoxetine, mianserin, buproprion, buproprion metabolite         hydroxybuproprion, nomifensine and viloxazine (Vivalan®),         especially a selective noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor such as         reboxetine, in particular (S,S)-reboxetine;     -   a dual serotonin-noradrenaline reuptake inhibitor, such as         venlafaxine, venlafaxine metabolite O-desmethylvenlafaxine,         clomipramine, clomipramine metabolite desmethyldlomipramine,         duloxetine, milnacipran and imipramine;     -   an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor such as         S-[2-[(1-iminoethyl)amino]ethyl]-L-homocysteine,         S-[2-[(1-iminoethyl)-amino]ethyl]-4,4-dioxo-L-cysteine,         S-[2-[(1-iminoethyl)amino]ethyl]-2-methyl-L-cysteine,         (2S,5Z)-2-amino-2-methyl-7-[(1-iminoethyl)amino]-5-heptenoic         acid,         2-[[(1R,3S)-3-amino-4-hydroxy-1-(5-thiazolyl)-butyl]thio]-5-chloro-3-pyridinecarbonitrile;         2-[[(1R,3S)-3-amino-4-hydroxy-1-(5-thiazolyl)butyl]thio]-4-chlorobenzonitrile,         (2S,4R)-2-amino-4-[[2-chloro-5-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]thio]-5-thiazolebutanol,         2-[[(1R,3S)-3-amino-4-hydroxy-1-(5-thiazolyl)butyl]thio]-6-(trifluoromethyl)-3         pyridinecarbonitrile,         2-[[(1R,3S)-3-amino-4-hydroxy-1-(5-thiazolyl)butyl]thio]-5-chlorobenzonitrile,         N-[4-[2-(3-chlorobenzylamino)ethyl]phenyl]thiophene-2-carboxamidine,         or guanidinoethyldisulfide;     -   an acetylcholinesterase inhibitor such as donepezil;     -   a prostaglandin E₂ subtype 4 (EP4) antagonist such as         N-[({2-[4-(2-ethyl-4,6-dimethyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]pyridin-1-yl)phenyl]ethyl}amino)-carbonyl]-4-meth         ylbenzenesulfonamide or         4-[(1S)-1-({[5-chloro-2-(3-fluorophenoxy)pyridin-3-yl]carbonyl}amino)ethyl]benzoic         acid;     -   a leukotriene B4 antagonist; such as         1-(3-biphenyl-4-ylmethyl-4-hydroxy-ch         roman-7-yl)-cyclopentanecarboxylic acid (CP-105696),         5-[2-(2-Carboxyethyl)-3-[6-(4-methoxyphenyl)-5E-hexenyl]oxyphenoxy]-valeric         acid (ONO-4057) or DPC-11870,     -   a 5-lipoxygenase inhibitor, such as zileuton,         6-[(3-fluoro-5-[4-methoxy-3,4,5,6-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-4-yl])phenoxy-methyl]-1-methyl-2-quinolon         e (ZD-2138), or         2,3,5-trimethyl-6-(3-pyridylmethyl),1,4-benzoquinone (CV-6504);     -   a sodium channel blocker, such as lidocaine;     -   a 5-HT3 antagonist, such as ondansetron;         and the pharmaceutically acceptable salts and solvates thereof.

In as much as it may desirable to administer a combination of active compounds, for example, for the purpose of treating a particular disease or condition, it is within the scope of the present invention that two or more pharmaceutical compositions, at least one of which contains a compound in accordance with the invention, may conveniently be combined in the form of a kit suitable for coadministration of the compositions.

Thus the kit of the invention comprises two or more separate pharmaceutical compositions, at least one of which contains a compound of formula (I) in accordance with the invention, and means for separately retaining said compositions, such as a container, divided bottle, or divided foil packet. An example of such a kit is the familiar blister pack used for the packaging of tablets, capsules and the like.

The kit of the invention is particularly suitable for administering different dosage forms, for example, oral and parenteral, for administering the separate compositions at different dosage intervals, or for titrating the separate compositions against one another. To assist compliance, the kit typically comprises directions for administration and may be provided with a so-called memory aid.

EXAMPLES

The invention is illustrated in the following non-limiting examples in which, unless stated otherwise: all operations were carried out at room or ambient temperature, that is, in the range of 18-25° C.; evaporation of solvent was carried out using a rotary evaporator under reduced pressure with a bath temperature of up to 60° C.; reactions were monitored by thin layer chromatography (TLC) and reaction times were given for illustration only; melting points (mp) given were uncorrected (polymorphism may result in different melting points); the structure and purity of all isolated compounds were assured by at least one of the following techniques: TLC (Merck silica gel 60 F₂₅₄ precoated TLC plates), mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectra (NMR), infrared red absorption spectra (IR) or microanalysis. Yields were given for illustrative purposes only. Flash column chromatography was carried out using Merck silica gel 60 (230-400 mesh ASTM) or Fuji Silysia amino bounded silica (Chromatorex, 30-50 uM) or Biotage amino bounded silica (35-75 μm, KP-NH) or Biotage silica (32-63 μm, KP-Sil). The purification using HPLC was perfomed by the following apparatus and conditions. Apparatus: UV-trigger preparative HPLC system, Waters (Column: XTerra MS C18, 5 um, 19×50 mm or 30×50 mm), Detector: UV 254 nm Conditions: CH₃CN/0.05% HCOOH aqueous solution or CH₃CN/0.01% NH₃ aqueous solution; 20 ml/min (19×50 mm) or 40 ml/min (30×50 mm) at ambient temperature. Microwave apparatus used in the reaction was Emrys optimizer (Personal chemistry). Optical rotation was measured by P-1020 (Jasco). Low-resolution mass spectral data (EI) were obtained on a Integrity (Waters) mass spectrometer. Low-resolution mass spectral data (ESI) were obtained on a ZMD (Micromass) mass spectrometer. NMR data were determined at 270 MHz (JEOL JNMLA 270 spectrometer) or 300 MHz (JEOL JNMLA300 spectrometer) using deuterated chloroform (99.8% D) or DMSO (99.9% D) as solvent unless indicated otherwise, relative to tetramethylsilane (TMS) as internal standard in parts per million (ppm); conventional abbreviations used were: s=singlet, d=doublet, t=triplet, q=quartet, quint=quintet, m=multiplet, br.=broad, etc. IR spectra were measured by a Shimazu infrared spectrometer (IR-470). Chemical symbols have their usual meanings; bp (boiling point), mp (melting point), L (liter(s)), ml (milliliter(s)), g (gram(s)), mg (milligram(s)), mol (moles), mmol (millimoles), eq. (equivalent(s)), quant. (quantitative yield), sat. (saturated), aq (aqua). In the following Examples, the term “the compound of Example XX” means the title compound of Example XX.

Example 1 2-(4-tert-Butylphenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide

A mixture of (4-tert-butylphenoxy)acetic acid (312 mg, 1.50 mmol), 5-(2-aminomethyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one (360 mg, 1.80 mmol, WO2004/108133), EDC (431 mg, 2.25 mmol), triethylamine (506 mg, 5.00 mmol) and DMAP (46 mg, 0.38 mmol) in DMF (15 ml) was stirred at room temperature for 15 hours. The reaction was diluted with EtOAc/toluene (8:1) and organic layer was washed with 2N hydrochloric aqueous solution (×1), 2N sodium hydroxide aqueous solution (×1), water (×2), and brine, dried over magnesium sulfate and concentrated in vacuo to give a crude product, which was recrystallized from MeOH to give the title compound (58 mg, 11% yield) as a pale brown solid. ¹H NMR (DMSO-d₆): δ 1.25 (9H, s), 4.26-4.33 (2H, m), 4.48 (2H, s), 6.80-6.92 (5H, m), 7.26-7.34 (2H, m), 8.52-8.61 (1H, m), 10.5-10.6 (2H, m). MS (ESI) m/z 354 (M+H)⁺. m/z 352 (M−H)⁺.

Example 2 2-(4-tert-butyl-3-fluorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide

To a solution of (4-tert-butyl-3-fluorophenoxy)acetic acid (112 mg, 0.5 mmol) in DCM (20 ml) was added oxalyl chloride (0.2 ml) and DMAP (5 mg) at room temperature. After the mixture was stirred for 1 hour, the excess amount of oxalyl chloride and DCM were removed under reduced pressure. To a solution of 5-(2-aminomethyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one (81.9 mg, 0.5 mmol) in DCM (10 ml) was added the DCM (5 ml) solution of above reaction mixture and triethylamine (2 ml) at 0° C. and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 hour. The reaction was partitioned with saturated sodium bicarbonate aqueous solution and EtOAc and the organic layer was separated, dried over sodiumsulfate. Then filtration, evaporation gave the crude residue which was purified through silica gel column chromatography eluting with DCM/MeOH (9:1) to furnish the title compound as a white solid (19 mg, 10%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 1.30 (9H, s), 4.29 (2H, d, J=5.9 Hz), 4.52 (2H, s), 6.56 (1H, m), 6.74-6.87 (4H, m), 7.23-7.26 (1H, m), 8.63 (1H, br), 10.58 (2H, br). MS (ESI) m/z 371 (M+H)⁺.

Example 3 2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide

The title compound was prepared by a similar method to that of Example 2 using 5-(2-aminomethyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one and (4-tert-Butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetic acid (3A, see below for the synthesis) as starting materials, and the appropriate solvent as described in Scheme 1. ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 1.36 (9H, s), 4.29 (2H, d, J=5.9 Hz), 4.54 (2H, s), 6.61-6.66 (2H, m), 6.83-6.87 (3H, m), 8.62 (1H, br), 10.57 (2H, br). MS (ESI) m/z 390 (M+H)⁺.

3A) (4-tert-Butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetic acid

To a suspension of zirconium tetrachloride (1.17 g, 5 mmol) in DCM (10 ml) was added tert-butyl methyl ether (0.44 g, 5 mmol) at 0° C. After stirring for 30 minutes at 0° C., 3,5-difluorophenol (0.65 g, 5 mmol) in DCM was placed there and the mixture was stirred for 8 hours at 60° C. The reaction was quenched with saturated sodiumbicarbonate aqueous solution followed by addition of DCM. Then, organic layer was separated, dried over magnesium sulfate, evaporated in vacuo to give the residue which was purified through silica gel column chromatography eluting with hexane/EtOAc (20:1 to 4:1) to furnish 4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenol as colorless oil (293 mg, 31%). ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 1.42 (9H, t, J=2.2 Hz), 5.22 (1H, bs), 6.32 (2H, d, J=11.9 Hz).

To a suspension of sodium hydride (75 mg, 1.9 mmol) in THF (5 ml) was added 4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenol (290 mg, 1.6 mmol) at 0° C., followed by stirring for 30 minutes. Then, tert-butyl bromoacetate (370 mg, 1.9 mmol) was added and the mixture was refluxed at 90° C. for 1 hour. The reaction was quenched with saturated ammonium chloride aqueous solution and the product was extracted with EtOAc, washed with brine, dried over magnesium sulfate. Then, filtration, evaporation, and purification through silica gel column chromatography eluting with hexane/EtOAc (20:1 to 4:1) gave the tert-butyl(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetate (403 mg, 86%). The DCM (2.0 ml) solution of tert-butyl(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetate (400 mg, 1.34 mmol) and TFA (2.0 ml), was stirred for 1 hour at room temperature. Evaporation gave the residue which was triturated with Hexane to furnish the title compound as a white solid (253 mg, 77%). ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 1.42 (9H, t, J=2.2 Hz), 4.63 (2H, s), 6.39 (2H, d, J=12.1 Hz). MS (ESI) m/z 243 (M−H)⁻.

Example 4 2-(4-tert-Butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide

4A) (4-tert-Butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)acetic acid

To a suspension of potassium carbonate (994 mg, 7.2 mmol) and 4-tert-butyl-3-chlorophenol (440 mg, 2.4 mmol) in acetone (5 ml) was added t-butyl bromoacetate (370 mg, 1.9 mmol) was added and the mixture was refluxed at 60° C. for 14 hours. Filtrating of potassium carbonate, evaporation, and purification through silica gel column chromatography eluting with hexane/EtOAc (20:1 to 10:1) to furnish the tert-butyl (4-tert-butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)acetate (720 mg, 100%). The mixture of tert-butyl (4-tert-butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)acetate (720 mg, 2.4 mmol), TFA (2.0 ml), DCM (2.0 ml) was stirred for 5 hours at room temperature. After being concentrated in vacuo, the residue was triturated with hexane to furnish the title compound (582 mg, 100%) as a white solid. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃): δ 1.45 (9H, s), 4.67 (2H, s), 6.76 (1H, dd, J=2.6, 8.6 Hz), 6.96 (1H, d, J=2.6 Hz), 7.35 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz).

4B) 2-(4-tert-Butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide

To a THF (3.0 ml) solution of the compound of 4A (109 mg, 0.45 mmol) was added CDI (73 mg, 0.45 mmol) at room temperature and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours followed by the additional stirring for 10 hours after the injection of triethylamine (0.3 ml) and the amine compound of Example 1 (156 mg, 0.5 mmol). The resulting precipitate was removed by filtration, followed by evaporation under reduced pressure to give the crude residue which was purified through silica gel column chromatography eluting with DCM/MeOH (9:1) to furnish the title compound as a white solid (19 mg, 11%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 1.40 (9H, s), 4.29 (2H, d, J=5.9 Hz), 4.53 (2H, s), 6.78-6.92 (4H, m), 7.01 (1H, d, J=2.6 Hz), 7.37 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 8.61 (1H, bt, J=6.6 Hz), 10.55, 1H, bs), 10.57 (1H, bs). MS (ESI) m/z 388 (M+H)⁺.

Examples 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10

The compounds of Examples 5 through 10 were prepared by a similar method to that of Example 4 using the following starting materials and the appropriate solvent as described in Scheme 1.

Starting Materials:

-   Example 5: Compound of Example 5A (see below) and Acid compound of     Example 1 -   Example 6: Compound of Example 5A and Compound of Example 3A -   Example 7: Compound of Example 5A and Compound of Example 4B -   Example 8: Compound of Example 8A (see below) and Compound of     Example 4B -   Example 9: 5-(aminomethyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-one, hydrochloride     (commercially available) and Compound of Example 4B

Example 10: Compound of Example 10A (see below) and Compound of Example 4B

5A) 5-(Aminomethyl)-1-methyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one, hydrochloride

The suspension of 1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazole-5-carbonitrile (1.84 g, 10.6 mmol) in MeOH (30 ml) and 38% HCl aqueous solution (5.0 ml) was treated with 10% Pd—C (500 mg) and the mixture was stirred for 50 hours at room temperature under hydrogen atmosphere (4.0 kgf/cm²). After the filtration to remove Pd—C, the filtrate was evaporated to give the crude residue, which was dissolved in EtOAc/38% HCl aqueous solution/water (30:1:30). After washing the aqueous phase with EtOAc, water was removed under reduced pressure, followed by recrystallization from DCM-MeOH to furnish the title compound as a dark pink colored solid (1.45 g, 64%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 3.27 (3H, s), 3.99 (2H, m), 6.90 (3H, m), 8.42 (2H, brs), 11.1 (1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z 179 (M+H)⁺.

8A) 6-(Aminomethyl)-1-methyl-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one, hydrochloride

A 3-methylamino-4-nitrobenzonitrile (2.91 g, 16.4 mmol, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (2001), 44(17), 2753-2771) was treated with borohydride-THF solution (1M THF solution, 65.6 ml) and the mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 0° C. After the addition of MeOH, the mixture was partitioned with water and EtOAc. The crude product was extracted with EtOAc and the organic layer was washed with water and dried over MgSO₄. Then, filtration, evaporation gave the yellow colored oil, which was used for the next reaction without purification. The residue was dissolved in 1,4-dioxane (10 ml), and then 2[{(tert-butoxycarbonyl)oxy}imino]-2-phenylacetonitrile (3.13 g, 12.7 mmol) was added. After stirring for 14 hours at room temperature, the residue was concentrated in vacuo followed by the purification through silica gel column chromatography eluting with hexane/EtOAc (20:1) to give tert-butyl [(3-methylamino-4-nitrophenyl)methyl]carbamate as yellow colored solid (864 mg, 19%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 1.47 (9H, s), 3.02 (3H, d, J=5.3 Hz), 4.31 (2H, d, J=5.9 Hz), 4.96 (1H, s), 6.56 (1H, d, J=9.3 Hz), 6.73 (1H, s), 8.08 (1H, brs), 8.14 (1H, d, J=8.6 Hz). MS (ESI) m/z 282 (M−H)⁺.

To a suspension of tert-butyl [(3-methylamino-4-nitrophenyl)methyl]carbamate (864 mg, 3.07 mmol) and 10% Pd—C (100 mg) in THF was charged with hydrogen carefully. After stirring for 6 hours at room temperature, the reaction was recharged with nitrogen. Then, filtration, evaporation gave the residue, which was used for further reaction without purification. To the THF solution of the above, CDI (597 mg, 3.68 mmol) was added and the mixture was stirred for 4 hours at room temperature. After evaporation, purification through silica gel column chromatography eluting with CH₂Cl₂/MeOH (15:1) gave tert-butyl [(3-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]carbamate as white solid (658 mg, 77%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 1.47 (9H, s), 4.35 (2H, d, J=5.2 Hz), 4.92 (2H, brs), 6.86-7.10 (3H, m), 9.73 (1H, brs) MS (ESI) m/z 278 (M+H)⁺.

A mixture of tert-butyl [(3-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]carbamate (658 mg, 2.37 mmol) and 10% hydrogen chloride-MeOH was stirred for 2 hours at ambient temperature. The formed precipitate was collected and washed with DCM to give the title compound as a white solid (436 mg, 86%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 3.28 (3H, s), 3.73 (2H, brs), 7.01 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.12 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.28 (1H, d, J=8.5 Hz), 8.03-8.67 (3H, m), 11.02 (1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z 176 (M−H)⁺.

10A) 6-(Aminomethyl)-1,3-benzoxazol-2(3H)-one, trifluoromethane sulfonic acid

To a TFA solution of 2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1,3-benzoxazole-6-carbonitrile (500 mg, 3.13 mmol) was added Raney Ni (50 mg) and the mixture was stirred for 10 hours at room temperature under hydrogen atmosphere (4.0 kgf/cm²). After filtration, collected solid was washed with MeOH-DCM and concentrated. The residue was dissolved in small amount of MeOH and recrystallized with acetnitrile to furnish the title compound as a white solid (86 mg, 9%). ¹H NMR (CDCl₃): δ 4.04 (2H, s), 7.15 (1H, d, J=7.9 Hz), 7.24 (1H, d, J=8.0 Hz), 7.40 (1H, s), 8.20 (1H, brs). MS (ESI) m/z 163 (M−H)⁺.

Compound name A═B═D Ex. Physical data R⁶/R⁸ 5 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl) N(CH₃)—C(O)—NH methyl]acetamide H/H ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.29(9H, s), 3.41(3H, s), 4.44-4.65(2H, m), 4.54(2H, s), 6.85(2H, d, J=8.8Hz), 6.88-7.11(4H, m), 7.32(2H, d, J=8.9Hz), 9.51(1H, brs). MS (ESI) m/z 368 (M + H)⁺. White solid (110 mg, 60%) 6 2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[(1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzi- N(CH₃)—C(O)—NH midazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide F/F ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.41(9H, t, J=2.7Hz), 3.43(3H, s), 4.48(2H, s), 4.55(2H, d, J=5.6Hz), 6.39(2H, d, J=11.9Hz), 6.83(1H, brs), 6.93(1H, d, J=7.9Hz), 7.04(1H, d, J=8.5Hz), 7.08(1H, s), 9.62(1H, brs). MS (ESI) m/z 445 (M + H)⁺. White solid (92 mg, 46%). 7 2-(4-tert-butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)-N-[(1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimida- N(CH₃)—C(O)—NH zol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide Cl/H ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.44(9H, s), 3.42(3H, s), 4.52(2H, s), 4.55(2H, d, J=5.9Hz), 6.74(1H, dd, J=2.6, 9.2Hz), 6.82-6.97(3H, m), 7.04(1H, d, J=7.9Hz), 7.08(1H, s), 7.34(1H, d, J=9.3Hz), 9.52(1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z 402 (M + H)⁺. White solid (41 mg, 20%). 8 2-(3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(3-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimida- NH—C(O)—N(CH₃) zol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide Cl/H ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.44(9H, s), 3.40(3H, s), 4.53(2H, s), 4.58(2H, d, J=6.0Hz), 6.74(1H, dd, J=3.3, 9.2Hz), 6.85-7.11(5H, m), 7.34(1H, d, J=8.6Hz), 9.69(1H, brs). MS (ESI) m/z 402 (M + H)⁺. White solid (133 mg, 66%) 9 2-(3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-5-yl)methyl]acet- NH—C(O)—CH₂ amide Cl/H ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.44(9H, s), 3.52(2H, s), 4.50(2H, d, J=5.9Hz), 4.52(2H, s), 6.74(1H, dd, J=2.6, 8.6Hz), 6.84(1H, d, J=7.9Hz), 6.86(1H, brs), 6.94(1H, d, J=2.6Hz), 7.15(1H, d, J=7.9Hz), 7.18(1H, s), 7.35(1H, d, J=9.2Hz), 8.39(1H, brs). MS (ESI) m/z 387 (M + H)⁺. White solid. (82.1 mg, 47%). 10 2-(3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1,3-benzoxazol-6-yl)meth- O—C(O)—NH yl]acetamide Cl/H ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.45(9H, s), 4.55(2H, s), 4.56(2H, d, J=5.9Hz), 6.75(1H, dd, J=8.6Hz), 6.96(1H, d, J=2.7Hz), 6.99(1H, d, J=7.9Hz), 7.09(1H, d, J=7.9Hz), 7.14(1H, s), 7.36(1H, d, J=9.3Hz), 9.02(1H, brs). MS (ESI) m/z 389 (M + H)⁺. White solid (64.4 mg, 66%).

Examples 11 and 12

The compounds of Examples 11 and 12 were prepared by a similar method to that of Example 1 using the appropriate starting materials and the appropriate solvent as described in Scheme 1.

Compound name Ex. No. Physical data A═B═D 11 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-(1H-benzindazol-5-ylmethyl)acetamide N—N═CH ¹H NMR(CDCl₃): δ 1.29(9H, s), 4.56(2H, s), 4.63-4.68(.88(2H, m), 62H, m), 6.80-6.99(1H, br.s), 7.27-7.36(3H, m), 7.42-7.50(1H, m), 7.66(1H, br.s), 8.04(1H, br.s). MS (ESI) m/z 338 (M + H)⁺. m/z 336 (M − H)⁺. White solid (154 mg, 32%) 12 N-(1H-benzimidazol-5-ylmethyl)-2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)acetamide NH—C(O)—NH ¹H NMR(DMSO-d₆): δ 1.25(9H, s), 4.40-4.48(2H, m), 4.51(2H, s), 6.85-6.93(2H, m), 7.05-7.16(1H, m), 7.26-7.34(2H, m), 7.40-7.60(2H, m), 8.18(1H, s), 12.37(1H, br.s). MS (ESI) m/z 338 (M + H)⁺. m/z 336 (M − H)⁺. White amorphous solid (136 mg, 35%)

Example 13 2-(4-tert-Butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[1-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)ethyl]acetamide

13A) N-[1-(4-Amino-3-nitrophenyl)ethyl]-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide

A mixture of 1-(4-amino-3-nitrophenyl)ethanone (500 mg, 2.78 mmol, J. Med. Chem. 1998, 41, 1777-1788), 2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide (674 mg, 5.56 mmol) in THF (25 mL) was added titanium(IV) ethoxide (1.75 ml, 8.34 mmol) at room temperature. The mixture was stirred at 80° C. for 24 hours. After cooling to room temperature, sodium borohydrate (316 mg, 8.34 mmol) was added to the mixture at room temperature. The mixture was stirred at room temperature for 14 hours. The mixture was quenched with MeOH (6 ml), poured into saturated sodium hydrogencarbonate aqueous solution (20 mL), extracted with EtOAc (150 mL×2). The combined organic layer was washed with brine (50 mL), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated. The residue was chromatgraphed on a column of silica gel with hexane-EtOAc (1:2) as an eluent to afford 675 mg (85%) of title compound as a yellow solid. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.11 (9H, s), 1.37 (3H, d, J=6.6 Hz), 4.33-4.24 (1H, m), 5.64 (1H, d, J=6.6 Hz), 6.99 (1H, d, J=8.8 Hz), 7.40 (2H, s), 7.45 (1H, d, J=8.8 Hz), 7.97 (1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z 286 (M+H)⁺, 284 (M−H)⁻.

13B) N-[1-(3,4-Diaminophenyl)ethyl]-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide

A mixture of the compound of Example 13A (670 mg, 2.35 mmol) and 10% palladium-carbon (70 mg) in EtOH (50 ml) was stirred under hydrogen atmosphere (4 atm) at room temperature for 6 hours. The mixture was filtered through a pad of Celite(trademark). The filtrate was concentrated to give 598 mg of the title compound as a brown solid. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, CDCl₃) δ 1.22 (9H, s), 1.45 (3H, d, J=6.6 Hz), 3.50-3.32 (4H, m), 4.45-4.37 (1H, m), 6.71-6.65 (3H, m). A signal due to NH was not observed. MS (ESI) m/z 256 (M+H)⁺.

13C) 2-Methyl-N-[1-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)ethyl]propane-2-sulfinamide

A mixture of the compound of Example 13B and CDI (569 mg, 3.51 mmol) in THF-DCM (10 mL-10 mL) was refluxed for 6 h. After cooling to the room temperature, water (10 mL) was added to the mixture. The mixture was extracted with EtOAc (150 mL) and organic layer was washed with brine (30 mL), dried over sodium sulfate and concentrated. The residue was recrystallized from EtOAc to afford 430 mg (65%) of the title compound as a pale brown solid. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.11 (9H, s), 1.38 (3H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 4.37-4.28 (1H, m), 5.53 (1H, d, J=6.6 Hz), 6.84 (1H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 6.93 (1H, d, J=8.1 Hz), 6.99 (1H, s), 10.54 (1H, bs), 10.60 (1H, bs). MS (ESI) m/z 282 (M+H)⁺, 280 (M−H)⁻.

13D) 5-(1-Aminoethyl)-1,3-dihydro-2H-benzimidazol-2-one hydrochloride

A mixture of the compound of Example 13C (430 mg, 1.53 mmol) and 10% hydrochloride in MeOH (10 mL) was stirred at room temperature for 4 hours. The mixture was concentrated, triturated with MeOH to give 265 mg (81%) of the title compound as a pale brown solid. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.50 (3H, d, J=6.6 Hz), 4.40-4.31 (1H, m), 6.94 (1H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 7.06 (1H, d, J=8.1 Hz), 7.10 (1H, s), 8.38 (2H, bs), 10.74 (1H, bs), 10.83 (1H, bs). MS (ESI) m/z 178 (M+H)⁺, 176 (M−H)⁻.

13E) 2-(4-tert-Butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[1-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)ethyl]acetamide

A mixture of the compound of Example 13D (57.6 mg, 0.35 mmol), the compound of Example 3A (75.0 mg, 0.32 mmol) in DMF (5 mL) were added EDC (92.4 mg, 0.48 mmol), HOBt (65.1 mg, 0.48 mmol) and triethylamine (0.07 mL, 0.48 mmol) at room temperature. After stirring for 16 hours, the mixture was concentrated and the residue was diluted with EtOAc (100 mL), washed with water (20 mL), brine (20 mL), dried over sodium sulfate, and concentrated under reduced pressure. The crude product was recrystallized from EtOAc to give a white solid. This white solid was purified by column (XTrraMSC18, 20 mm I.D.×500 mm using 0.05% formic acid solution (A)/acetnitrile (B), Gradient(% B):32-96), Flow rate: 20 mL/min) to give a white solid, which was recrystallized from EtOAc to afford 48 mg (40%) of the title compound as a white solid. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.39-1.38 (12H, m), 4.51 (2H, s), 4.97 (1H, t, J=7.7 Hz), 6.63-6.59 (2H, m), 6.91-6.81 (3H, m), 8.47 (1H, d, J=7.3 Hz), 10.54 (1H, bs), 10.59 (1H, bs). MS (ESI) m/z 404 (M+H)⁺, 402 (M−H)⁻.

Example 14 N-[(1R)-1-(1H-1,2,3-Benzotriazol-6-yl)ethyl]-2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetamide

A mixture of 1-(3,4-diaminophenyl)ethanone (Indian Journal of Chemistry, Section B: Organic Chemistry Including Medicinal Chemistry (1985), 24B(5), 574-7., 3.6 g, 24.0 mmol), acetic acid (5 ml, 48.0 mmol) and water (15 ml) was stirred for 10 minutes at 65° C. and the mixture was placed at 5° C. After quenching with water solution of sodium nitrile (1.90 g, 27.6 mmol), the mixture was stirred for 1 hour at 80° C. followed by being cooled to 5° C. with stirring for 3 hours. The formed precipitate was collected and dried to give 1-(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-6-yl)ethanone (2.65 g, 68%). ¹H NMR (270 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 2.71 (3H, s), 3.36 (1H, brs), 7.90-8.07 (2H, m), 8.69 (1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z477 (M−H)⁻, 479 (M+H)⁺

To a THF (25 ml) solution of 1-(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-6-yl)ethanone (1.85 g, 11.5 mmol), (R)-(+)-2-methyl-2-propanesulfinylamide (2.30 g, 18.9 mmol) and titanium(IV) ethoxide (25 ml) were added and the mixture was stirred for 24 hours at 70° C. Then, the mixture was cooled to 0° C. and sodium borohydride (1.5 mg, 40 mmol) was added. After stirring for 2 hours, water and EtOH were added to the mixture with stirring for 1 hour at room temperature. Filtration, evaporation gave N-[(1R)-1-(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-6-yl)ethyl]-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide (MS (ESI) m/z 265 (M−H)⁻, 267 (M+H)⁺) which was treated with hydrochloric acid-MeOH (2.0 M, 15.0 ml) and 1,4-dioxane (15.0 ml) for 1.5 hours at room temperature. Then, the reaction mixture was evaporated and diethyl ether was added to form a precipitate, which was collected, washed with diethyl ether to give (1R)-1-(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-5-yl)ethanamine hydrochloride (1.26 g, 68%) MS (ESI) m/z 161 (M−H)⁻

To a DMF (10 ml) solution of (1R)-1-(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-5-yl)ethanamine hydrochloride (500 mg, 2.52 mmol) and the compound of Example 3A (614 mg, 2.52 mmol), HBTU (1.24 g, 3.28 mmol) and trimethylamine (1.1 ml, 7.56 mmol) were added and the mixture was stirred for 2 hours at room temperature. The reaction was quenched with water and the product was extracted with EtOAc. Then, evaporation, purification through HPLC (column: MS C 30×50 mm, solvent: acetonitrile/0.01% aqueous ammonia eluting with 4 to 40) gave the title compound (120 mg, 12%) as a white solid. The fraction time for the desired product was 5.7 minutes. ¹H NMR (300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.38 (3H, s), 1.47 (3H, d, H, J=6.6 Hz), 4.57 (2H, s), 5.12-5.22 (1H, m), 6.62 (2H, d, J=11.7 Hz), 7.41 (1H, d, J=8.1 Mz), 7.80 (1H, s), 7.85 (1H, d, J=8.8 Hz), 8.66 (1H, d, J=8.1 Mz). MS (ESI) m/z 387 (M−H)⁻, 389 (M+H)⁺

Examples 15 and 16

The compounds of Examples 15 and 16 were prepared by a similar method to that of Example 14 using the following starting materials and the appropriate solvent as described in Scheme 1.

Starting Materials:

Example 15: Compound of Example 15A (see below) and Compound of Example 3A

Example 16: Compound of Example 16A (see below) and Compound of Example 3A

15A) 1-(1,3-Benzothiazol-6-yl)ethanamine hydrochloride

To a THF (6 ml) solution of 1-(1,3-benzothiazol-6-yl)ethanone (European Journal of Organic Chemistry (1998), (9), 2047-2050., 250 mg, 1.41 mmol) and (R)-(+)-2-methyl-2-propane sulfinylamide (188 mg, 1.55 mmol), titanium(IV) ethoxide (2 ml) was added and the mixture was stirred for 40 minutes at 85° C. under microwave condition. The mixture was then cooled to 0° C. and sodium borohydride (188 mg, 5.0 mmol) was added to the reaction mixture. After stirring for 2 hours at the temperature, the reaction was partitioned with water and EtOH followed by stirring for 1 hour at room temperature. Then, filtration, evaporation gave N-[1-(1,3-benzothiazol-6-yl)ethyl]-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamide (MS (ESI) m/z 281 (M−H)⁻, 283 (M+H)⁺) which was then added hydrochloric acid-MeOH (2.0 M, 7.0 ml) and 1,4-dioxane (7.0 ml). The mixture was then stirred for 1.5 hours at room temperature and the same reaction procedure as Example 14 was performed to give the title compound. MS (ESI) m/z 180 (M−H)⁺

16A) 1-(1,3-Benzothiazol-5-yl)ethanamine hydrochloride

A THF (6 ml) solution of 1-(1,3-benzothiazol-6-yl)ethanone (European Journal of Organic Chemistry (1998), (9), 2047-2050., 250 mg, 1.41 mmol) and (R)-(+)-2-methyl-2-propane sulfinylamide (188 mg, 1.55 mmol), titanium(IV) ethoxide (2 ml) and sodium borohydride (188 mg, 5.0 mmol) were treated with the same procedure as Example 14 to give the title compound. MS (ESI) m/z 180 (M−H)⁺

Compound name A═B═D Ex. Physical data R⁶/R⁸ 15 N-[1-(1,3-benzothiazol-6-yl)ethyl]-2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetamide N═CH—S ¹H NMR(300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.34-1.42(9H, m), 1.47(3H, d, J=7.3Mz), 4.57(2H, F/F s), 5.09-5.23(1H, m), 6.55-6.69(2H, m), 7.46(1H, dd, J=8.1, 1.5Hz), 8.03(1H, brs), 8.09(1H, d, J=8.1Hz), 9.39(1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z 403 (M − H)⁻, 404 (M + H)⁺ 16 N-[1-(1,3-benzothiazol-5-yl)ethyl]-2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetamide S—CH═N ¹H NMR(300 MHz, DMSO-d₆) δ 1.34-1.42(9H, m), 1.47(3H, d, J=7.3Mz), 4.57(2H, F/F s), 5.09-5.23(1H, m), 6.55-6.69(2H, m). 7.46(1H, dd, J=8.1, 1.5Hz), 8.03(1H, brs), 8.09(1H, d, J=8.1Hz), 9.39(1H, s). MS (ESI) m/z 403 (M − H)⁻, 404 (M + H)⁺. (9.6 mg, 17%). The fraction times for the desired product were 4.5 and 4.6 minutes.

All publications, patents and patent applications cited in this specification are herein incorporated by reference as if each individual publication or patent application were specifically and individually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Although the foregoing invention has been described in some detail by way of illustration and example for purposes of clarity of understanding, it will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art in light of the teachings of this invention that certain changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit or scope of the appended claims. All such modifications coming within the scope of the appended claims are intended to be included therein. 

1. A compound of the formula (I):

wherein A═B═D represents NR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, S—C(O)—NR⁹, NR⁹—C(O)—S, NR⁹—C(O)—O, CR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, O—C(O)—NR⁹, NR¹⁰—C(O)—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—NR⁹—C(O),C(O)—NR⁹—NR¹⁰, NR¹⁰—N═CR⁹, N═N—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—CR⁹═N, N═CR⁹—NR¹⁰, NR¹⁰—N═N, N═N—NR¹⁰, S—CR⁹═N or N═CR⁹—S; X¹ represents CR¹; X² and X³ each independently represents CR⁸; R¹, R⁶, R⁸, R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently represents hydrogen, halogen, hydroxy, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkylthio, (C₁-C₆)alkylsulfinyl or (C₁-C₆)alkylsulfonyl; R², R³, R⁴, and R⁵ each independently represents hydrogen, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, halogen, halo(C₁-C₆) alkyl, or hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkyl; and R⁷ represents halogen, (C₁-₆)alkyl, halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH—or [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, provided that: (i) when A═B═D represents NR¹⁰—N═N or N═N—NR¹⁰, then R² represents (C₁-C₆)alkyl, halogen, halo(C₁-C₆) alkyl or hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkyl; or (ii) when A═B═D represents NR¹⁰—N═N or N═N—NR¹⁰, and R² represents (C₁-C₆)alkyl, then R⁷ represents halogen, (C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy, hydroxy(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkyl, (C₁-C₆)alkoxy-(C₁-C₆)alkoxy, [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]NH—or [(C₁-C₆)alkyl]₂N—.
 2. A compound according to claim 1, wherein X¹ represents CR¹, and R¹ represents hydrogen; X² represents CR⁸, and R⁸ represents hydrogen; and X³ represents CR⁸, and R⁸ is as defined in claim
 1. 3. A compound according to claim 1, wherein A═B═D represents NR¹⁰—C(O)—NR⁹, NR⁹—C(O)—O, NR¹⁰—C(O)—CR⁹, NR¹⁰—N═CR⁹, NR¹⁰—CR⁹═N, NR¹⁰—N═N, N═N—NR¹⁰, S—CR⁹═N or N═CR⁹—S.
 4. A compound according to claim 1, wherein R⁷ represents (C₁-C₆)alkyl or halo(C₁-C₆)alkyl.
 5. A compound according to claim 1, wherein R¹, R², R³, R⁴ and R⁵ each independently represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₆)alkyl; R⁶ and R⁸ each independently represents hydrogen or halogen; R⁷ represents (C₁-C₄)alkyl or halo(C₁-C₄)alkyl; and R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₆)alkyl.
 6. A compound according to claim 1, wherein R¹, R², R³, R⁴ and R⁵ each independently represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₃)alkyl; and R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently represents hydrogen or (C₁-C₃)alkyl.
 7. A compound according to claim 1, wherein R¹, R³, R⁴ and R⁵ each independently represents hydrogen; R² represents hydrogen or methyl; R⁶ and R⁸ each independently represents hydrogen, fluoro or chloro; R⁷ represents tert-butyl or 2,2,2-trifluoro-1, 1-dimethylethyl; and R⁹ and R¹⁰ each independently represents hydrogen or methyl.
 8. A compound according to claim 1, wherein one of R⁹ and R¹⁰ represents methyl; and R⁶ and R⁸ represent hydrogen and hydrogen, fluoro and fluoro, hydrogen and chloro or chloro and hydrogen.
 9. A compound according to claim 1, wherein the compound is selected from the group consisting of: 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butyl-3-fluorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[(1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butyl-3-chlorophenoxy)-N-[(1-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1- H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(3-methyl-2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-indol-5-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(3-chloro-4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-[(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1,3-benzoxazol-6-yl)methyl]acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)-N-(1H-benzindazol-5-ylmethyl)acetamide, N-(1H-benzimidazol-5-ylmethyl)-2-(4-tert-butylphenoxy)acetamide, 2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)-N-[1-(2-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-benzimidazol-5-yl)ethyl]acetamide, N-[(1R)-1-(1H-1,2,3-benzotriazol-6-yl)ethyl]-2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetamide, N-[1-(1,3-benzothiazol-6-yl)ethyl]-2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetamide; and N-[1-(1,3-benzothiazol-5-yl)ethyl]-2-(4-tert-butyl-3,5-difluorophenoxy)acetamide; or pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof.
 10. A pharmaceutical composition comprising a compound of the formula (I) or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as defined in claim 1, together with a pharmaceutically acceptable excipient. 